Bleach: The Next Generation
by the-circle-of-stupidity
Summary: The Ichiruki and Ulquihime kids fight for survival. With their parents no longer there to help them and Aizen on their trail, how many will fall before this story ends?
1. Aizen's Back Part 1

**I don't own Bleach.**

Ch. 1

Kaien Kurosaki sat in their English class, flicking a gnat that landed on his desk. His twin sister, Masaki, sat next to him blowing a piece of hair out of her face. The teacher asked a question and Evee Schiffer's hand shot into the air.

"Miss Schiffer, can you translate for us?"

"Um..." Evee thought for a second, and then gave an answer worthy of her mother's imagination. "Something about robot cheese warriors taking over the earth and forcing us all to be their slaves? Oh! And we'd have to work in a cheese mine for the rest of our lives! And then-"

"I think that's enough," the teacher cut her off. Kaien rolled his eyes and Masaki was trying hard not to laugh at her friend.

"Kurosaki," the teacher called out.

"Yes?" the twins replied in unison. The teacher sighed as part of the class giggled.

"Kaien."

Kaien stood up and opened his mouth to read when his breath caught in his throat. He saw Masaki and Evee stiffen on either side of him and knew they'd sensed too. A _very _high reiatsu. Right next to the school.

"I have to go to the nurse!" the twins shouted, Masaki standing up. Evee stood up too, her chair almost falling backward.

"I'll take them!"

The teacher waved a hand and they all ran out of the room.

"What the hell has spiritual pressure _this_ high?" Kaien asked as they turned a corner, slipping out of their bodies.

"Whatever it is, it's really close," said Evee. She now wore the uniform of the Espada, while the other two had Shinigami uniforms, and bone fragments framed her face and formed into flowers, that resembled her mother's Shun-shun Rikka, in her dark hair.

"You don't think Dad's, y'know, gone berserk again?" Masaki asked, pulling her long black and orange hair into a ponytail. Kaien was quiet for a second, his violet eyes concentrated on the floor in front of him.

"I don't think so. The reiatsu doesn't feel the same."

There had been a time, three years ago, Ichigo had lost control of his Hollow. If Rukia hadn't stepped in, he probably would've killed their kids.

The three of them reached the door and burst into the courtyard, the twins with their hands on their zanpaku-to.

"Are you sure it's here?" Masaki asked.

"This is where it feels the strongest," Kaien answered.

"Well, you aren't exactly the best at tracking reiatsu."

Kaien rounded on his sister. "Oh yeah? Well if you're so smart, let's see you find it!"

"Um, guys?" said Evee, tapping on Kaien's shoulder.

"What?" they both shouted. Evee held her hands up in surrender, then pointed to a spot in front of them. The reiatsu rose and they all struggled to stay on their feet.

"Found it," Masaki mumbled. A man stood in front of them. He had slicked-back brown hair with a piece hanging in his face and brown eyes that held a slight glint of insanity behind them. He was also wearing the white kimono that Soul Society prisoners wore.

"Don't you three look familiar?" He said mockingly. "Let me think, Kurosaki and the Kuchiki girl-" he looked at the twins, "-and Schiffer and Inoue? She's definitely your mother judging by your-er-'friends'."

Evee glared and crossed her arms over her large chest.

"Who are you?" Kaien barked.

"And how do you know our parents?" Masaki cut in. The man just smiled and flash-stepped so that he was right in front of them. Kaien and Masaki started to pull out their zanpaku-to when someone shouted from behind the man.

"Hey!"

Ichigo Kurosaki stood on the other side of the courtyard, already with his zanpaku-to out. Seconds later, Rukia appeared beside him with Ulquiorra and Orihime. The man smiled over his shoulder at them.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything, yet."

And with that, he flash-stepped away, leaving three, very confused teenagers in his wake.

"What just happened?" Evee asked. Ichigo's eyes traveled over the three of them before he answered.

"Nothing. He must have just been an insane, escaped prisoner."

"Then how did he know you?" Masaki asked. Rukia sighed then put a hand on Ichigo's arm.

"I think we should tell them."

Ichigo looked up at Ulquiorra, hoping for some back-up, but the arrancar just shook his head.

"Fine. I guess we have to tell them," said Ichigo.

"Tell us what?" Kaien asked.

"That man was Sosuke Aizen," Ulquiorra said with a slightly bitter tone. "He betrayed all the Shinigami, created the arrancars, and tried to kill the Spirit King."

"Along with a ton of other people," Orihime cut in.

"What do you mean?" Evee asked slowly. Their parents exchanged a look, then told them the whole story from Rukia's execution to Ichigo losing his powers. The three of them were quiet for a second before Kaien finally asked, "So why's he back?"

"I don't know," Rukia started to say.

"If I had to take a guess," Ulquiorra said, "I'd say he's probably looking for revenge. I'm sure the prison drove him insane."

"But if he's looking for revenge on Dad for beating him, why would he come find us?" Kaien asked. Masaki elbowed him in the ribs, making him hunch over.

"What was that for?"

"You idiot. Think about it. What's the one thing Mom and Dad are most afraid of?"

Kaien thought for a few seconds and Evee caught on before he did.

"Oh..."

"From now on, if you guys feel something," Ichigo started, "even if it's just a Hollow, I want you to let us handle it."

Kaien and Masaki started to protest when Evee cut them off.

"Okay, Mr. Kurosaki. We promise!"

The twins grumbled behind her as the bell rang. A few seconds later there was a loud scream from one of the windows.

"Oh my god!" someone shouted. "They're not breathing! Do you think they're dead?"

"Oh, for crying out loud..." Rukia muttered, walking toward the door. "How many times do I have to tell you two, don't leave your bodies lying around?"

"Sorry, Mom," said the twins, sheepishly while Rukia grumbled, "Just like your father. Every time!"

She disappeared through the door. A few minutes later, there was a loud pop and a large flash of smoke from the fourth floor. Soon after, Rukia appeared in the doorway, somehow supporting all three of their bodies.

"Someone come help me."

The three kids got back into their bodies.

"Do you think it was a good idea to use the memory thing on so many people at once?" Ichigo asked.

"Why? They should all have the same memory replacing it."

"I wonder what it is..." Orihime thought out loud.

Their question was answered the next day when a student came up to Kaien during lunch.

"How'd you guys get out of that without a scratch?" the boy asked.

"Get out of what?"

"The Yakuza guys raiding the school yesterday! You three were right in the middle of the fight!"

"One of the guys tried to get Kaien with a knife," Masaki started, pulling up her sleeve to show a cut she'd gotten for a fight with a Hollow, "but I jumped in front of him. That's about when the alarms started going off, so they left."

"Oh, yeah, I remember now."

Kaien raised his eyebrows at his sister. "Nice save."

Masaki just shrugged, her brown eyes glinting evilly. "I've just gotten really good at making up cover stories for whenever you let something slip."

"Hey, it's not always-"

"GUYS!"

The two of them looked up to see Evee running across the classroom toward them.

"Evee, what're you-?"

"It's him-Aizen! He's-He's back."

**Ok, the Ulquihime thing was for my friend. I actually couldn't care less who Orihime ends up with...as long as it isn't Ichigo. He belongs with Rukia.**


	2. Aizen's Back Part 2

**Thanks to d.m.p supreme kai fan for being the first to review, so Here's chapter 2!**

**Disclaimer: See ch. 1**

Ch. 2

Kaien stood up. "Let's go after him."

"Are you insane?" Masaki almost shouted. "Remember what Mom and Dad told us?"

"But there's three of us against one of him. We'll be fine."

"But I-"

"Look, are you coming or not?"

Masaki bit her lip. "No. I'm not."

"Alright then, stay here."

And with that, Kaien turned on his heel and walked away. He paused in the doorway.

"But after what Mom and Dad told us, I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to let him go."

"Evee, why'd you have to tell him Aizen was back?" Masaki grumbled.

"Ah, sorry! I didn't know he'd act like that. I panicked!" Evee said, following Kaien out of the room. Kaien sprinted out of the school and into the nearby forest. He left his body near a tree, making sure it was hidden, before taking off into the trees, releasing his zanpaku-to as he did so. The blade turned black and the star-shaped guard and hilt turned white with a long, white ribbon flowing out of it.

Kaien searched the forest for a while, Evee following behind him. Finally the two of them came across a large, spider-looking hollow. It had eight, spindly legs with three, foot-long claws on each leg.

"If you're looking for Aizen," it started, stepping off of its web, "You'll have to go by me first."

"Evee, can you go on ahead?" Kaien asked, getting in the fighting stance. "I'll catch up in a couple seconds."

Evee nodded and took off across the clearing, the Hollow ignoring her completely. Instead it charged at Kaien who ducked out of the way and cut one of its arms off. The Hollow roared and turned to face him.

"That hurt, ya little brat!"

"What's the matter? Ya got seven more," Kaien called back, letting his guard down. The Hollow noticed this and charged at him again. Knowing it was too late to block, Kaien shut his eyes and waited for the impact, holding his arms up to shield his face. He felt something warm and wet hit his sleeves. Right away he could tell it was blood and there was a lot of it.

So why hadn't he felt the hit?

Slowly, Kaien opened his eyes to see Evee standing in front of him, still in her body. All three of the Hollow's claws were sticking through her arm and shoulder.

"Evee!" Kaien shouted, running forward to catch Evee as the Hollow pulled its hand back.

The Hollow laughed at him. "Ya got cocky, kid! Now it's your turn!"

Its hand shot out again and Kaien felt Evee curl into his chest. Suddenly, someone flew over their heads and cut off the Hollow's hand as it shot at Kaien's head.

Masaki stood with her zanpaku-to out, facing the Hollow.

"I'll take care of this," she called over her shoulder, the white blade of her zanpaku-to glinting in the sun. "If you're gonna catch Aizen, you better go now."

Kaien nodded and turned back to Evee.

"Are you gonna be okay here?" he asked.

"Mm-hmm. I'll be fine, just go!"

Kaien ran off back toward the trees, took one last glance behind him, then started looking for Aizen.

Kaien's job was made easy when Aizen found him. The man seemed to appear out of nowhere, pinning Kaien to the ground.

"Oh, wait. You're not the one I'm looking for."

Kaien just grunted in response, trying to worm his way out from under Aizen's foot. He stopped at Aizen's next question.

"Where's your sister? The older twin?"

"How did you know she was-?"

"It's obvious. The difference in your power? Was she the first to learn Shikai? And figure out the Kido spells? Have either of you learned shunpo? She'll probably be the first to be able to. Then there's Bankai-"

"STOP! Just what are you getting at?" Kaien hated being compared to Masaki. She had learned everything first, she even knew a little bit of shunpo. Aizen just smiled at him.

"I was just making sure my theory was correct. If she was the first born," Aizen knelt down and lowered his voice, "she'll be the first to go."

"Like hell she will," Kaien growled. Aizen laughed.

"Do you understand my plan yet? Your father stopped me from getting what I wanted, so I'm going to take away everything he loves, starting with you two."

"Why Masaki first?" Kaien was starting to get frantic. "Why not me? You've got me right here."

"Because Masaki was named after your grandmother who was killed by a Hollow. And what is Masaki doing right now?"

"Fighting a-oh no." Kaien caught on to what Aizen was saying and tried even harder to get up. Aizen smirked down at him.

"Oh, yes. I created this Hollow to keep fighting until it killed one person, or until I tell it to stop. Can you guess who that one person is?"

"MASAKI!" Kaien shouted, hoping his sister would hear him. "DON'T FIGHT THIS HOLLOW! RUN AWAY! IT'S GONNA-mmf!"

Aizen moved his foot up to push Kaien's face into the dirt.

"Don't press your luck, boy. I'm not going to kill you yet."

He lifted his foot and Kaien started to crawl away. Aizen hurled his foot down on the back of Kaien's neck and the boy slumped back to the ground.

"Sweet dreams," Aizen muttered. "I'm going to go watch the show."

Evee watched from the sidelines as Masaki was, for the third time, thrown across the clearing. The Hollow dashed over and threw her into the ground before she landed.

_I have to do something._ Evee thought. She started to stand up when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Aizen stood behind her, a smile on his face.

"You don't have to do that," he said. He whistled and the Hollow looked up. Suddenly it started disappearing.

"This ain't over kid," it said to Masaki before its face disappeared.

Evee, who had been watching the whole thing, looked back up at Aizen, but he'd disappeared too. Shaking her head, Evee ran over to Masaki, who was sprawled on her back in the middle of a small crater.

"I know this is a stupid question, but, are you okay?" Evee asked.

"I hate...spiders..." Masaki growled, sitting up. "And I could ask you the same question."

"Huh?" Evee looked down at her arm. "Oh, yeah. Nah, it's just a scratch. It's fine!"

"Evee, you can't move your arm." Masaki fixed her friend with a worried look. "That's not 'just as scratch'. Why don't we have your mom heal it for y-"

"No! Really it's fine!" Evee cut her off, waving her good arm. Masaki blinked.

"O-okay? Well, anyway, do you think Kaien caught up with Aizen?"

"But, Aizen was just here," said Evee, pointing over her shoulder. "He whistled and the Hollow went away and he just sorta disappeared."

"But if he was here, then what happened to...?"

They exchanged a horrified glance and both yelled, "KAIEN!"

**so, yeah. Chapter 2. And for those who say that Aizen is a little OC, he supposed to be insane. I hope I did ok with him. **


	3. Birthday Hollowfication Part 1

**Okay, I've got like 4 chapters written on paper I've just been too lazy to type them up. And I noticed I had some major issues at the beginning of chapter 1, and I've tried to fix it, but my computer's being stupid.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Ch. 3

"...en."

Kaien heard a small voice, but it sounded far away. Maybe he should just ignore it?

"..aien."

Now it was starting to sound like a word. Why did the voice sound familiar?

"Kaien."

He'd heard that voice before somewhere, but he didn't want to answer. He was fine where he was.

"Kaien!"

Wait a second, was Evee calling him? Maybe he would respond...

_SLAP._

Kaien jolted up, rubbing his stinging face and looking around. He saw Masaki holding up her hand. She must've slapped him.

"You didn't have to hit him!" Evee yelled throwing her good arm in the air.

"Well, your tactic wasn't working too well. At least I woke him up," Masaki replied calmly. Evee opened her mouth to respond, then thought for a second and shut it again.

"Where's Aizen?" Kaien asked. The two girls exchanged a look. "He got away," Evee started, looking at the ground. "Sorry."

Kaien just smiled at her. "No, really, it's okay. I'm sure he'll show up again."

Evee blinked in surprise at his reaction. "But, I thought-"

"I'm just glad you're both okay."

Masaki gave her twin a strange look then helped him to his feet. They started to go back toward the school when Masaki suddenly stopped.

"What is it?" Kaien asked.

"How are we gonna explain Evee's arm?"

Kaien looked like he was mentally kicking himself.

"We could just say I fell out of a tree during lunch," Evee suggested.

"Falling out of a tree wouldn't make that much blood."

"You have any better ideas?"

Masaki raised her eyebrows at Kaien who shrugged.

Once Kaien was back in his body, he pulled off his jacket and gave it to Evee.

"Use this as a sling," he said, moving around to help her tie it. Masaki pretended not to notice them both blushing furiously.

"So, should we get inside?" she asked. "We shouldn't be too late."

Clearing his throat, Kaien nodded and he and Evee followed Masaki into the building.

The next day was cold and foggy. It also happened to be the twins' birthday.

"Do you think it's ironic," Masaki started as they walked to school, "that the children of Death Gods were born on Halloween?"

Kaien laughed. "Completely. I never thought about it that way."

The two of them saw a blurred shape moving toward them. A few seconds later, Evee appeared out of the fog carrying two boxes with her arm in an actual sling.

"Hey you two!" she called cheerfully. "Happy Birthday!"

"Thanks Evee!" Masaki called back while Kaien shouted, "What's with the boxes?"

"What d'you think?"

She caught up to them and handed them each a box. One had "Kaien" written messily on the front, the other one said "Masaki".

"Sorry about the messy writing," said Evee, while Kaien shook the box next to his ear. "I had to use my other hand."

"It's fine," said Masaki starting to open her box. She pulled out a long, white scarf with the initials "MK" printed on one end and a picture of a white bladed katana with a round black guard and hilt with a long black ribbon lining the bottom for the sword on the other.

"Wow, Evee, that's really cool," Masaki said, running her thumb over the sewn zanpaku-to. "How'd you get my zanpaku-to on there?"

"I had Mr. Ishida help me. Open yours, Kaien!"

Kaien, who had been staring at Masaki's new scarf, opened his box to find a pair of black gloves with his zanpaku-to sewn into the backs of them. The white ribbon coming from the end of the sword came down and wrapped around the wrist.

"Great timing, Evee," he said, slipping the gloves on, "I'm pretty sure my hands were about to freeze off."

Masaki elbowed him in the arm. "He means 'thank you'."

The three of them started walking off toward the school, Evee skipping a little ahead of the other two.

"You like her, don't you?" Masaki teased her brother.

"What? No, of course not! We're just friends."

As soon as he said this, he walked right into Evee and they landed in a very awkward position.

"Uh," Kaien said stupidly, his face going red. "I-uh...s-sorry!"

He jumped up and helped Evee to her feet. She continued walking and Kaien turned to see Masaki grinning at him.

"You don't like her, huh?"

"Shut up."

They continued on their way until Kaien told Evee to go ahead and pulled Masaki around a corner, under a dim street light.

"What is it?" Masaki asked, confused by the look on her brother's face. "If you're mad about me saying that you like Evee, I'm sorry, I was just teasing you and-"

"It's about Aizen."

Masaki stopped talking and looked suddenly serious. "Is he nearby?"

"No, but, yesterday, when I found him, he told me his whole plan."

Masaki paused for a second. "What kind of villan tells you his plan, then lets you go on purpose?"

Kaien shook his head. "I don't know. But he said that he wanted revenge on Dad and that he was gonna take away everything Dad cares about." Kaien left out the part about Masaki being the first target. He didn't want to stress her out before the sun was totally up.

His sister thought for a second. "Then that means we're not the only ones in danger." Masaki counted off on her fingers. "There's us, Aunt Yuzu, Aunt Karin, Grandpa, Mom, Evee's mom, Mr. Ishida, Mr. Sado..." she trailed off before she started counting on her toes. "Dad cares about a lot of people."

"Hey!" They both looked up at the sound of Evee's voice. She was waving at them wildly with one arm. "You guys are gonna be late!"

Exchanging a look, the twins raced to catch up to their friend.

The teacher dismissed the class and everyone stood, putting things in bags and saying good-bye to friends. Masaki had one of her books halfway into her bag when she froze. There was a very faint trace of reiatsu. She looked up at Kaien who didn't show any signs of having noticed it. While he talked awkwardly to Evee, Masaki focussed on the reiatsu. It wasn't exactly weak, it was just far away. Still, there was no mistaking who it was.

"Kaien, go ahead and take Evee home," said Masaki. "I have to ask the teacher something."

"Okay?" Kaien didn't get a chance to question his sister as Evee grabbed his hand and pulled him from the classroom. Making sure no one was looking, Masaki pulled out the Chappy Gigongan dispenser she'd "borrowed" from her mother and popped one into her mouth. She stepped out of her gigai and held it's shoulders to keep its attention.

"Just wait a few minutes, then follow Kaien home, okay?" she told it slowly, like giving instructions to a two-year-old.

"Gotcha. Hop!" the gigai said, winking and giving a mock salute. Masaki rolled her eyes then jumped out the open window. She kept away from where Kaien and Evee were walking so they wouldn't see what she was doing. She was almost across town when she heard a voice behind her.

"That was a little too easy, don't you think?"

Before she could even turn around, she felt a sharp pain in her back. Looking down, she saw a sword sticking through her chest.

"Like I said, too easy."

Slowly Masaki turned her head to see Aizen standing behind her, grinning calmly. He pushed the sword in farther and twisted, making Masaki give a strangled yell. Aizen got closer to whisper in her ear.

"One down, about nine to go."

He pulled back his sword and let her fall to her knees, then fall forward. Masaki's eyes were half-open and blank, blood coming from the corner of her mouth. She tried to say something, but no sound came out. Aizen was mumbling something to himself.

"...where would it be for her to-? Ah, here we go."

Masaki felt the tip of the sword press into her back, right between the soulder blades.

"Hold still. This is going to hurt a little." He pressed down even harder and instead of feeling a stabbing pain like she expected, Masaki felt like she was choking. She could see something thick and white coming out of her mouth. Aizen started to push harder when someone knocked the sword from his hands. He looked up to see Kaien. They boy's eyes were wide and frantic and he had his sword out. A few seconds later Evee ran up behind him.

"Kaien, why'd you run-Masaki!"

Kaien was still standing in a stunned silence. Finally he found his voice. "Y-you...she-she's-"

"She's not dead," Aizen cut him off. Thunder crashed about them and rain started to pour from the dark, gray sky. "I've done what I meant to." He turned and started to walk away, not bothering to pick up his sword. The he paused and called over his shoulder. "Oh, and tell your mother she should be careful."

And with that, he disappeared. Kaien stumbled forward and fell to his knees next to his sister. The white substance looked like it was starting to subside.

"Evee," Kaien's voice cracked slightly. "Help me get her to your mom."

**:O Oh no! What's gonna happen to Masaki?...I don't really know yet. But it will be a thing! I can tell you that much! Woohoo! Longest chapter yet! And I don't think I'll ever forget when I let my friend read this and as soon as I walk into band class, she yells at me for killing Masaki. Let's just say we got a few strange looks...**


	4. Birthday Hollowfication Part 2

**I meant to say this before, but forgot: The Violent Spazz, who is now practically my co-writer, told me that I made Kaien look like Ichigo with Rukia's personality and Masaki look like Rukia with Ichigo's personality. And then Evee is just like a mini-Orihime.**

**Disclaimer: Seriously? If I owned bleach do you think I'd be writing fanfiction?**

Ch. 4

Ichigo sat cross-legged on the floor of Ulquiorra and Orihime's house with Rukia in his lap. Kaien and Evee sat on the other side of the large, orange bubble that was surrounding an unconscious Masaki on the floor. Evee slipped her hand into Kaien's. He looked up at her, slightly surprised and blushing. Then he smiled and squeezed her hand, looking back at Masaki.

_It's my fault, _he thought. _I should've told her what Aizen was gonna do. She wouldn't have gone after him. _

Kaien was broken aout of his thoughts when Masaki's hand twitched and her eyes slowly opened. Except instead of dark brown, they were black and yellow.

The only thing Masaki was aware of was that she was freezing. When she opened her eyes, all she could see was a white blur of snow. She stood up trying to look around.

"Oh, I'm in my inner world," she mumbled to herself. Masaki saw the blurred outline of a person not far ahead of her.

"Toketsu?" she asked, thinking it was her zanpaku-to spirit. Instead she saw...herself? But the person was all white except the eyes that were black and yellow and the all black teeth. "What?"

"What? You don't recognize me? You called my name just a second ago."

"Who are you?" asked Masaki, instinctively reaching to her side.

"I told you, already. I'm Toketsu Tsuki. Your zanpaku-to."

Ichigo felt Rukia tense up in his lap and knew she'd felt it too. Masaki's reiatsu had changed so that it was closer to a Hollow's. Masaki's arm shot out toward Evee who seemed to suddenly disappear. kaien looked around the room and saw Ulquiorra reappear on the other side with one arm around Evee's waist and the other around Orihime's. Kaien let out a sight of relief that his friend was all right, but was unprepared when his sister pinned him to the ground. He looked up to see half of Masaki's face covered with a Hollow mask. The mask had fangs for teeth and purple, swirling lines all over it. Masaki pulled back her hand to attack when someone grabbed her from behind while another person pulled Kaien away. Ichigo struggled to keep his daughter still while Rukia helped Kaien to his feet. Rukia looked back up at Ichigo.

"Ichigo, get her out of here until she can calm down. Try and help her if you can."

Ichigo nodded. "Right. I can-ngh!"

Ichigo let go of one of Masaki's arms to hold his head. Kaien could see a thick, white substance forming between Ichigo's fingers.

Masaki's feet kicked up snow as she skid backwards, her sword held up in defense.

"What's the matter?" the other Masaki jeered in a distorted voice. "Can't take a hit?"

Masaki growled, wiping blood out of her eyes with her sleeve. The black and white copy moved to attack when someone else came out of nowhere and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Let her win, it's more fun that way." The snow cleared for a second, just long enought for Masaki to see another black and white copy. Only, this one looked like Ichigo.

"Believe me," he continued. "It makes it easier to mess with them."

The other Masaki grinned and settled back to a standing position. She exchanged a look with the other Ichigo then turned back to her opponent.

"I'm gonna go visit your daddy for a while. You just hang out 'til I get back."

"Wait!" Masaki called out, reaching forward. The wind picked up for a second and the other two disappeared. The snow settled and cleared to reveal a snow-capped mountain range and a young girl standing in front of it. She had long, silver hair with a black streak in her bangs, a snow-white kimono and a crescent moon-shaped scar over one of her silver eyes.

"Toketsu."

"Hello Masaki," Toketsu said calmly. "I see you met the other half." She waved a hand at the blood coming from Masaki's hairline. Masaki wiped at it again.

"Who-or I guess, what was that?"

Toketsu sighed. "It's called and inner Hollow. Everyone has one, but not everyone's is active."

"And Dad has one too? Is that what the mask is?" 

The zanpaku-to spirit nodded.

"But then if I'm in here and the Hollow mask is on me out there...Oh my God."

Masaki put her hands on Toketsu's shoulders. "Is there any way I can stop her?"

Toketsu nodded to the tallest mountain behind them that had a small figure at the top. Masaki flash-stepped up to the top. She over-shot her target slightly and ended up tackling the Hollow. The Hollow pushed her back off and scrambled to her feet.

"Heh. Nice try, but if you think that's gonna stop me, you're stupider than I thought!"

Masaki pulled out her zanpaku-to again. "I can't let you take over. Rise, Toketsu Tsuki!"

**Heheh. Bubbles. **

**Toketsu Tsuki-Loosely translated: Freezing Moon**


	5. Birthday Hollowfication Part 3

**The Doctor's stuck in the Pandorica, Amy might be dead and Rory's a roman with a gun inside his hand. Seems like things aren't going as planned. River's in the TARDIS, the TARDIS is on fire...I found a new band...**

**I don't own bleach**

**THIS MEANS PAGE BREAK**

Ch. 5

Rukia pulled Kaien to his feet and pushed him toward the door.

"Orihime, take Kaien and Evee and go!" she shouted pulling out her sword. "Ulquiorra and I will calm them down."

Orihime nodded. "Right."

She took Evee's hand and lead her toward the door. Kaien stood in shock for a second before following. Ichigo still had one hand firmly gripping Masaki's arm, the other holding his face, trying to keep his mask from forming. Masaki was fighting to get out of his grip.

"Lemme go Old Man!" she shouted, her voice distorted. Ichigo tried to respond, but was a little preoccupied by something else.

**PAGE BREAK**

Ichigo clashed swords with his Hollow again. Hichigo looked around, a slightly disappointed look on his face.

"Oh, she didn't come with me. She must've gotten held up."

"You should keep your eyes on your opponent," said Ichigo, swinging Zangetsu around, only to have it blocked. Hichigo was still looking over his shoulder. He grinned to himself.

"Hmph. That brat of yours must be stronger than she looks." He turned back to Ichigo. "Oh well, that doesn't mean we can't still have some fun!"

Hichigo moved his sword so that Ichigo stumbled forward. The Hollow attacked from behind.

"I told you I'd win, King!"

**PAGE BREAK**

Orihime led the two kids down the hallway, constantly looking over her shoulder to make sure they were still there. They got to the front door when she stopped. A mad laugh from Ichigo could be heard from the other room.

"Evee, go with Kaien to his house and wait for us there," said Orihime, starting back in the other direction. "I'm gonna go help."

Evee nodded and followed Kaien out the door. They had only gone a block when Kaien felt a strong reiatsu and heard an odd strangled noise. Kaien turned to see Aizen holding Evee up by the throat.

"Evee!" Kaien pulled out his zanpaku-to. "Blaze, Taiyo no Nensho!"

"Look at that," Aizen said to Evee, who's face was getting redder by the second. "Your boyfriend's going to save you."

Kaien growled and charged at Aizen. The latter just held out his hand and fired a Kido spell.

"Hado 33, Sokatsui."

The blast sent Kaien flying backward. He heard a squeak from Evee, like she was trying to say something Aizen looked at her.

"What's the matter?" he asked, grinning. "Calling for help?"

"...ngh...strike.." The smile started to slide off his face. "...angeles vengador..."

A bright light flashed and smoke filled the air in the street. Kaien looked up at the sky. Evee hovered above them, large, black, feathered wings beating up and down. She was wearing a long dress that matched her wings and her green eyes blazed, surrounded by black rings that extended on either side of her face. The bone fragments only changed slightly, forming an odd sort of halo around her head. Her fingers were covered in bits of bone, giving her lethal-looking claws.

Kaien stared. He'd never seen her like this. She leaned forward and seemed to disappear for a second before reappearing, her hand nearly slashing off Aizen's arm. Aizen looked surprised for only a second before his grin was back on his face.

"Hmph. You hit me. You definitely inherited your father's fighting style."

Evee's hand stayed on his shoulder, her bare feet touching the ground.

"Cero."

A giant blast of blue light illuminated the entire street, taking out a couple of street lights and gouging a large trench in the concrete. After a few seconds it faded away to show Evee still standing with her hand out. Aizen was nowhere to be found. Evee's wings folded behind her. She was looking paler than usual. Her eyes were barely open as she walked unsteadily forward. She smiled at Kaien.

"Did I get him?" she asked quietly, before her knees gave way and she passed out. Kaien jumped forward to catch her before her head hit the ground. He sat down cross-legged with her head in his lap. He was glad Masaki wasn't there to see it. She'd never let him live it down. They sat like that for a few minutes before Evee groaned. Slowly, she sat up, holding her head.

"I think I put a little too much into that one," she said before seeing how close she was sitting to Kaien. Both turned a new shade of red before scooting away from each other. Kaien cleared his throat awkwardly while Evee looked everywhere but at him.

"Sooo..." she started.

"We should keep going."

"Yep."

"Okay, then...uh..." Kaien stood up and held out his hand. Evee took it, turning back to her normal Espada uniform, and pulled herself up. "Let's go."

**PAGE BREAK**

Masaki was panting like she'd just run a marathon and was supporting her weight on her zanpaku-to. The only upside to this was that her Hollow wasn't in any better shape. The Hollow could barely stand on her feet and had a long cut running from her forehead all the way to her shoulder. Her left arm hung limply at her side.

_One more hit_, Masaki thought, wiping blood from the corner of her mouth. Her Hollow grinned, only able to open one black and yellow eye. Jagged towers of ice surrounded them, and it had started to snow again. Both glared daggers at each other, gripped their zanpaku-to and charged. There was a blur of black and white and a splash of red. Masaki's sword was embedded in the Hollow's chest while the latter's sword had shot through Masaki's shoulder. The Hollow looked surprised for a second, then smiled as she started to fade away.

"Guess you won this round," she mumbled. Masaki cracked a smile, then flopped over onto her back.

**PAGE BREAK**

Rukia held up her sword to block Masaki's attack. Laughing insanely, the girl pulled back to swing again and suddenly froze. Slowly, she lowered her sword and one of her hands drifted to the side of her mask. Behind them Ichigo threw Ulquiorra into the wall. The arrancar got quickly back to his feet and jumped out of the way before Ichigo's sword stuck through the wall behind him. Ichigo heard a yell and looked up. Masaki was pulling off her mask. Judging by how loud she was yelling, it didn't want to come off. Finally, with one last pull, she tore it off and fell to her knees. Rukia was a little surprised to see Masaki laughing. Ichigo reached for his sword and was about to pry it out when his mask just disappeared. He looked a little shocked for a second before shaking his head and kneeling next to his daughter.

"You okay?" he asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Masaki nodded. "Yeah, I think so."

Orihime, who had been watching from the sidelines, moved next to Ulquiorra. He had a large cut over his right eye which Orihime immediately started healing.

"Hey, Dad?" Masaki asked, getting to her feet. "Can you teach me to control it like you can yours?"

Ichigo gave her a sad smile. "Yeah. Promise."

**Well, I hate the way this chapter ended, but it was starting to seem extremely long on paper. So. Allonsy! (Sorry, you have a whovian writing this story)**


	6. Friendly Reunions and Hollow Promises

**Ok, so The Violent Spazz and I were talking it over, and we decided to change Kaien and Masaki's hair a little. So, the front part of Kaien's hair is now black while the rest is orange, and Masaki's gets slowly more orange towards the bottom. And it's kinda…fluffy? We decided this because we both kept picturing Ichigo and Rukia instead of Kaien and Masaki. This just helps tell them apart from their parents in pictures. Anyway, I'll try and draw a pic of them sometime…maybe…Also, Evee's hair is now black. I'm going to go back and edit the chapters for future readers, but you shouldn't have to go back if you don't want to.**

"Talking"

"_**Inner Hollow"**_

_Thinking _

Ch. 6

Ichigo drove towards the familiar abandoned-looking warehouse. He hadn't seen the Visoreds in years. Not since that final battle with Aizen. He pulled the car to a stop in front of the large doors. Taking a deep breath, he stepped out; wondering of Shinji was still as big an idiot as he was back then.

One step through the door was enough to prove that. As soon as he was in, Shinji seemed to be doing his best to give Ichigo a warm welcome.

"Yo, Kurosaki!" He called from the ledge. "Long time, no see. How ya been? You got old. You're hair's a little longer. You growing a beard? It looks like a little stubble—."

"Shinji!"

He stopped, smiling down at Ichigo. Shinji looked almost exactly the same. He still had the same stupid haircut, but Ichigo couldn't help but notice small amounts of gray streaked in the blonde. He carried himself differently too, like he'd just carried something incredibly heavy.

"So, what brings you here, Kurosaki?"

"My daughter."

"'Daughter'?" Shinji repeated, looking genuinely surprised. "You mean, _you_ actually found someone, settled down and had a kid?"

"Two, actually," said Ichigo, pretending not to be offended. "Twins."

Shinji whistled in amazement. "That must've been hell for your wife…how is Rukia anyway?"

"How did you—?"

"Please, it was way too obvious," said Shinji waving a hand. "Anyway, why does your daughter bring you here?"

"What do you think?" Ichigo asked sarcastically. He grew serious again, looking down at his shoes and stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Aizen's back."

Shinji almost fell of his pedestal. "Aizen? How is that possible?"

Ichigo just shrugged. "I don't know. But he seems hell-bent on revenge. I'm the one that stopped him, now he's going after my family and friends. He's hollowfied my daughter, almost killed my son, tried to kill Orihime's daughter—."

"Inoue had a kid too? Man where have I been?"

"Actually, it's Schiffer now, but yeah, you're pretty out of the loop."

Shinji just rolled his eyes, jumping down to talk to Ichigo face-to-face.

"Oh, and you got taller," he added, coming up right in front of Ichigo. "Yeah, we'll train the little princess. We probably would've found her ourselves anyway."

"Thanks Shinji," Ichigo smiled. Shinji could see the small amount of worry in his eyes.

"You've gotten a lot more mature since the last time we met," he said, putting a hand on the other man's shoulder.

"It _has _been about twenty years, Shinji."

Ichigo turned to leave. "I should get going. Oh, and that little princess comment? It'd be smarter not to call her that. She might look more like Rukia, but she's got my attitude."

And with that, he walked through the doors. Shinji listened to the sound of a car engine starting up before fading away as Ichigo left.

The next day, a girl with long orange and black hair walked through the door. She crossed her arms in front of her chest, looking up at Shinji as he stood in front of her.

"I heard you were friends with my dad," she said.

"Yep. I hear we're supposed to train you," Shinji replied, holding her steady gaze. She raised an eyebrow, the large piece of hair between her brown eyes almost covering it.

"Then let's get started."

**BREAK**

Masaki walked home silently, her bag strung over her shoulder. She'd been training with the Visoreds for the past two weeks and was finally able to at least keep her Hollow at bay. She was worn out, shuffling her feet as she rounded the corner.

_It'll be nice to go home and just flop into my bed, _she thought. _I don't even think I'm gonna change. I'm just gonna go home, and fall asle—._

She was brought out of her thoughts by something crashing through the wall a few feet in front of her. Masaki sighed in exasperation.

"Seriously?" she mumbled at the Hollow now bounding toward her. "So not in the mood right now…"

She left her body, sleepily pulling out her zanpaku-to and raising it up to shout an attack. The Hollow was a lot closer than she'd expected and rammed into her, pinning her up against a wall. The sharp points of its claws stabbed through her shihakusho and into the wall behind her. Her sword clattered to the ground as she tried to kick at the Hollow.

"Heh. Remember me, kid?"

Masaki looked up at the Hollow's voice. Looking around its mask, she could see the outline of a spider-like body against the dark street.

"Oh, great. You again."

It pressed her harder into the wall, two of the claws nicking her arms as they went further into the wall.

"Hey, that's not very nice y'know."

"Says the monster pinning the now defenseless girl to a wall," Masaki retorted sarcastically. She stretched her foot down toward her zanpaku-to, only to groan when it was just out of reach.

_Why can't I be taller? _She thought.

"So, what's Aizen got planned for me this time?" she asked, hoping to get the Hollow talking as she started mumbling the incantation for a Kido spell.

"I can tell you you'll be beggin' for me to kill you by the time I'm done. He said I could do whatever the hell I wanted with you. So, I told 'im, I said, y'know what, I just might take you up on that."

"…Hado 33, Sokatsui!"

The blue-ish fire exploded between them, sending the Hollow flying across the wide street. The spell had backfired slightly and Masaki stumbled as she got to her feet before diving for her zanpaku-to. The smell of something burning was heavy in the air. The Hollow stayed where it was for a second before speeding back on its feet and shooting at Masaki again. She was ready this time and dodged just before the attack. The Hollow's claws swiped at a light pole right where Masaki's head had been just seconds before. It whirled around to face her, seven legs moving one right after the other. It jumped suddenly, almost landing on top of her, all of its legs whirling to hit her. She jumped out of the way and it only grazed her shihakusho. Watching the Hollow, Masaki was starting to notice a pattern. It wasn't really attacking to kill.

_It's messing with me, _she thought. _Why's it doing that?_

She became distracted for a second and the Hollow saw it's opening, flying towards her. Her eyes widened as she tried to get the sword up, only to have the Hollow back hand her into another light pole. She felt a sharp pain as her head struck the metal and her view of the Hollow started to become blurry. She let herself fall back against the pole. The Hollow was coming straight toward her, two sets of claws outstretched.

"_**This is how you're gonna die?"**_ said a voice in the back of her head. _**"That's pathetic. I'm coming out."**_

_Oh, no you don't, _she said, pushing back at her Hollow. _I just learned to control you, I'm not about to let you take over. _

The Hollow was getting closer, going in and out of focus. Masaki tried to get to her feet and just fell back against the light pole. Suddenly a figure appeared in front of her, brandishing a sword with a slight blue glow. The figure turned their head and shouted, "Go!"

She couldn't make out any features except that they were wearing a shihakusho. She shook her head, scrambling to her feet and finding her way back to her body before getting back inside it and running as fast as she could toward home.

_Who was that?_ She thought frantically. _Why did they save me? And why am I still running?_

Masaki slowed down to a walk before realizing she was just across from her house. Trying to catch her breath, she stepped through the door.

"I'm home," she called, stepping through the door.

"Good thing we're not at Grandpa's house or you would've been greeted by a friendly, loving kick in the face."

Kaien was sitting on the couch flipping through the channels on the TV, not really watching it.

"Where're Mom and Dad?" she asked, setting her bag down and flopping down next to him.

"Mission to Soul Society. Apparently, they'd just gotten Mom's message about Aizen being back and all Shinigami were called for a meeting."

"…why weren't we called?"

"Because Soul Society doesn't really consider us 'Shinigami'."

"Ah."

Masaki got up and walked over towards the kitchen, pausing when she found a note on the fridge.

"'Don't answer the door, don't go chasing after Hollows you can't fight, if you feel like Aizen's nearby, leave him alone, and no wild parties while we're gone—Mom'," Masaki mumbled. "'P. S. Don't do anything stupid—Dad'."

Masaki smiled at Ichigo's side note before making herself a sandwich and going back over to the couch with Kaien. He stared at the sandwich in her hands for a second before going back to channel surfing.

"You didn't eat yet, did you," she stated. Kaien's stomach growled and he shook his head.

"Probably should…" he trailed off, looking back at the TV. "…but I don't really want to get up right now."

Masaki gave her brother a look. "You're hopeless."

"I'm a guy," he muttered before setting the remote down. "Alright, stomach rules over laziness."

He stood up and walked to the kitchen, ignoring his sister as she rolled her eyes. Masaki finished her sandwich in the time it took Kaien to come back. When he did, he had what looked like three sandwiches stacked on top of each other.

"Did you eat at all today?" Masaki asked. "I swear you're like a black hole sometimes!"

Kaien just shrugged and started his monster sandwich. Kaien finally left the TV alone when they'd landed on a movie. Masaki curled up on the couch and felt her eyes get heavy. Soon she fell asleep, not caring that she was still in her school clothes and was on the couch.

After what felt like only a few minutes later, she opened her eyes again to see something yellow and square obstructing her vision. Pulling the sticky note off the side of her face, she saw Kaien's messy handwriting.

_You fell asleep, so I thought I should tell you how the movie ended: Kagome got shot with her own arrow by the lady with the mirror, taken away somewhere, Inuyasha goes after her, goes into his demon form and almost kills everyone before Kagome kisses him to snap him out of it. Oh, and Naraku's not really dead._

"Thank you, Kaien," Masaki mumbled. She ran up to her and Kaien's room, pulled back the curtain that divided it in half and flopped onto her bed, sleep re-taking her in seconds.

**So, there, chapter 6. Sorry for the wait. **


	7. Daisuke

**To The Violent Spazz, yes, he comes in this chapter. To those who don't know the 'he' to which I am referring, see chapter below.**

Ch. 7

BEEP BEEEPP BEEEEEEPPPP.

Masaki's head jerked up from her pillow to glare at the alarm clock. Rolling over onto her back, she groaned.

"Five more minutes," she mumbled.

BEEEEEEPPP BEEEEEPPPP BEEEEEPPPPP.

"Fine." She crawled out of bed, smashed the button and flopped back into bed. She was just getting comfortable again when Kaien stuck his head around the curtain, giving her a glimpse of his messy half of the room.

"You up yet?"

Masaki just growled at him. Kaien grinned.

"Oh, well, I guess that means I get the shower first—."

Masaki shot past him, almost getting caught in the curtain, grabbing a clean uniform off the dresser and sprinting to the bathroom. Kaien sighed, watching his sister go.

"Someday, she'll actually still be asleep when I do that…"

**BREAK**

Ichigo shuffled out of his room, Rukia still asleep in the bed behind him. The sound of running feet upstairs greeted him, followed quickly by, "C'mon Masaki! I was kidding! You take forever in the shower!"

Ichigo couldn't help but smile. _Back into the normal routine,_ he thought. It was almost like Aizen had never shown up at all. Almost. Masaki had still been Hollowfied. There was no getting around that.

Twenty minutes later, she came down the stairs, black and orange hair still soaking wet. She tried and failed to hide a giant yawn before getting a bowl of cereal and sitting down at the table.

"Morning Dad," she mumbled, stirring the cereal around with her spoon.

"You're not gonna dry your hair?" Ichigo asked.

"Kaien kicked me out of the bathroom."

"At least he let you get dressed first," Ichigo said jokingly. She just stared at the table.

"You okay?"

"Aizen's been quiet for a while," she said, almost silently.

Ichigo sat down next to her. "You think he's planning something?"

"The last time I saw him—the night he Hollowfied me—he told Kaien to tell Mom to be careful…do you think he's going after her next?"

Ichigo copied her glare at the table. If Rukia was Aizen's next target…he'd have to keep a very close eye on her. As much as he loved her, he had to admit, she wasn't the best at staying out of danger.

"Dad?"

Ichigo looked up at Masaki who had been waving a hand in front of his face. She'd stood up and was trying to get his attention.

"Hmm? Sorry. I was thinking."

"Looked like it. I thought you were gonna burn a hole in the table…" she turned her attention to the stairs. "Kaien, hurry up! We're gonna be late!"

"I'm coming, jeez!" Kaien called back. "We wouldn't be late if you wouldn't take so long in the shower!"

Masaki opened her mouth to respond, then closed it mumbling about how they needed more than one bathroom. She grabbed her bag from the table and walked towards the door, slipping on her shoes.

"Bye Dad, love you," she said before heading out the door.

"Me too," Kaien mumbled quickly, sprinting down the stairs and out the door after her, bag in hand. A few seconds later, he opened the door again. "Shoes."

Ichigo just shook his head.

**BREAK**

Kaien caught up with his sister just as Evee came around the corner.

"Good morning!" she called.

"Morning," the twins replied in unison.

"Wow, Masaki, you look like hell," said Evee when they caught up.

"Thanks," Masaki yawned sarcastically. "I feel like I haven't slept in a week."

"You haven't," Kaien pointed out. His sister glared at him, the shadows under her eyes suddenly more prominent. Kaien noticed she was also looking a little pale. "Are you okay?"

"Fine. Why?"

Kaien shook his head, "Never mind."

Masaki raised an eyebrow at him before turning forward again, stepping a little ahead of the other two. The rest of the walk was quiet as Kaien and Evee kept shooting glances at Masaki who seemed too tired to notice. Images of the night she'd attacked them flashed through their heads. She seemed so different then, like she'd kill them all just for the fun of it.

Once they got into their classroom, Masaki flopped down at her desk, throwing her bag next to her and putting her head on her arms. Kaien poked her a few times to make sure she didn't fall asleep. The bell rang and Masaki twitched. Kaien assumed she _had_ fallen asleep and jerked awake at the sound. The teacher walked in about five minutes later.

"Sorry I'm late," she said. "I had to help with enrolling the new kid. Oh, by the way did I mention we have a new kid?"

The class just stared at her.

"Anyway, he should be here any sec—."

Someone knocked on the door before entering. A boy with very light ginger hair that almost covered his eyes and went down his neck and a broad grin strode calmly into the room. He was tall and lanky, the uniform sort of hanging off of him. His grin shrank slightly and his eyes opened. They were bright blue.

Kaien saw Masaki glance at the new kid before closing her eyes again.

"Daisuke Ichimaru," the boy said brightly, his grin growing again.

"Right, I was gonna say that, but okay," said the teacher, almost looking a little put-out. She pointed at the two sitting near the window. "Ichimaru, you can take a seat beside Kurosaki over there."

Daisuke looked at the twins. "Uh…"

"The girl one, not the boy."

"Ah."

Daisuke slung his bag over his shoulder and sitting down on Masaki's other side. She outright ignored him when he said hello and just kept her head on her desk.

"Just ignore her," said Kaien over his sister's back. "It's just that time of the—OW!"

Masaki's foot shot out and kicked him in the leg.

"Look," she started, her voice muffled by her arms. "I don't wanna be rude or anything, but I haven't slept a lot in the past week or so. Bear with me."

"Oh believe me, I will," Daisuke muttered matter-of-factly. This caught Masaki's attention. Her head came up a fraction off of her arms. Kaien faced the front, not hearing Daisuke.

"What?"

"Nothing."

Masaki glared at him for a few more seconds before lying her head down again. She may have been half-asleep for the rest of the hour, but it wasn't hard to see Daisuke shooting glances at her every few minutes. The hour seemed to drag on and Masaki wasn't looking any better. In fact, Kaien thought she looked even worse than that morning…almost green actually.

"Masaki, are you—?" he started leaning over.

"GONNA THROW UP!" she shouted, standing up before taking off down the hall. The class looked at the desk where she used to be to the doorway.

"I'll go make sure she's okay…" Daisuke started.

"Why, thank you, Daisuke!" said the teacher, putting her hands on her hips. "See class? Ichimaru hasn't even been here a day and he's already trying to help out."

Most of the class just rolled their eyes as Daisuke walked calmly after Masaki. He stopped just outside the girls' bathroom and knocked.

"Masaki-chan? You in there?"

"Go away."

"The teacher sent me to help," Daisuke lie d smoothly. "I'm s'posed to bring you back to class if you're feeling better."

He heard someone sigh from inside.

"What do you want Ichimaru?"

Daisuke grinned and she cracked the door open. "Just seeing if you were still alive in there."

She glared at him then started turning a little green again before running back towards the toilet, the door slowly shutting itself behind her.

"Guess not," Daisuke muttered. He leaned on the wall, waiting until she came out about ten minutes later.

"Were you waiting for me?" she asked. She was walking slowly, like she didn't want to get too far from the bathroom just in case there was still some breakfast left she hadn't upchucked. "What do you want?"

"I already told you Masaki-chan—."

"Please don't call me that. I haven't even known you for a day yet."

"I already told you," he continued. "I'm supposed to make sure you're—."

"You're lying."

He paused, his smile fading off his face. "What do you mean?"

Masaki sighed and looked up at him, brown eyes boring into blue. "I can feel your reiatsu. You're not doing a very good job of hiding it. You're not a normal human. You're a Soul Reaper. So, what do you _really_ want?"

Daisuke grinned again. "You got me, I'm a Soul Reaper. I was assigned to this town to help with the growing Hollow problem."

He moved suddenly closer to her, pinning her against the wall. Masaki tried to keep a straight face as his hand drifted toward her waist. It made its way into her pocket and stayed there for a second before he backed up.

"Now you know right?"

She quickly patted herself down to make sure he hadn't stolen anything and felt her phone still in her pocket, sighing in relief.

"Whatever. I'm going back to class."

Daisuke stepped in front of her again. "I think you should head home."

"Why? I feel fine now—."

"Masaki-chan—." Daisuke put a hand on her shoulder.

"Stop calling me that!" she shouted, shrugging him off. Masaki made her way past him and down the hall, leaving him standing there. No trace of his grin was left on his face. He could've sworn he'd seen a flash of yellow in her brown eyes as she'd yelled at him.

**Hmm…did anyone catch the joke in there? The ironic thing? Cookie to anyone who does! Well…at least a virtual cookie…unless you want to make yourself an actual cookie because you feel like you accomplished something…**


	8. Mixed Feelings

**So, chapter eight….**

Chapter 8

Kaien looked up as Masaki slouched back into the classroom. Everyone was quiet for a second as she sat back down. The teacher cleared her throat.

"Feeling better Kurosaki?"

"Mmhmm," Masaki mumbled, laying her head back onto her desk.

"Now then, as I was saying—."

Daisuke opened the door took one look at the teacher, and grinned.

"Sorry sensei. She was a little ahead of me in the hallway."

"That's fine Ichimaru, just sit down and open your book to page 501."

Daisuke did so, making a show of getting the book out and nudging Masaki in the elbow. She growled at him but otherwise didn't respond. Kaien couldn't help but notice Daisuke look up every few minutes or so at Masaki who'd fallen asleep on her book. He was about to whisper something when the lunch bell rang.

Kaien nudged Masaki awake while Evee came over to join them.

"Hi, I'm Evee," she said, bowing to Daisuke. "That's Kaien, and I guess you already met Masaki."

The sleepy girl just growled again, rubbing her eyes as she stood up. Evee ignored her.

"Do you want to come eat lunch with us up on the roof?"

"Yeah, that'd be great," said Daisuke brightly. He punched Masaki lightly on the shoulder. "You gonna be able to make it up the stairs?"

He earned another glare before Masaki pushed past him, lunch in hand and walked toward the door.

"Don't worry about her," said Kaien, waving a hand dismissively after his sister. "She's never fun when she wakes up. Actually, this one time, she—hey!"

Evee and Daisuke had already started walking, leaving Kaien behind.

**BREAK**

Masaki walked home a few feet behind the others. She was very aware of someone tailing close behind her. After a few minutes she whirled around.

"Will you stop following me?"

Daisuke looked a little surprised.

"I live in this direction too."

"That doesn't mean you have to be two inches behind me," Masaki snapped.

"Well, I thought I'd be nice and walk with you. You looked lo—."

"Will you just LEAVE ME ALONE?"

Daisuke just shut his mouth, turned around and walked in the other direction. Masaki blinked in surprise.

"That actually worked?"

Daisuke stopped and turned back to her, a small grin on his face. "Did you not want me to leave?"

"Well—I uh—It's just I…no, I guess, but…" she trailed off, face going red. "I just don't want you stalking me everywhere…"

"I never said I was stalking you," he said calmly. Masaki just glared at him again before turning and jogging to catch up with Kaien and Evee.

The next few days passed without incident. Aizen seemed to be leaving them alone for the time being, Masaki's Hollow stayed relatively dormant and she even smiled politely at Daisuke when he said hello.

On Friday, the four of them were walking home when Daisuke suddenly put a hand on Masaki's shoulder and pushed her forward.

"What're you—?"

A large hole appeared in the wall next to them exactly where her head had been just seconds before.

"You okay?" Daisuke asked.

"Yeah…thanks…" Masaki pulled herself back to her feet, face turning red as Daisuke offered his hand. She was about to take it when something crashed into his shoulder, sending him into the wall.

"Daisuke!"

Something blurred by them and crashed into the wall again. Kaien and Evee left their bodies and looked around for what hit the wall. Masaki followed suit only to join Daisuke on the wall. The two of them scrambled to their feet, Daisuke coming out in full Shinigami regalia, and stood back to back, zanpaku-to out, with the other two, their eyes barely following the thing that was attacking them as it blurred around their heads.

"What is it?" Kaien asked.

"It's too fast I can't see anything!" Masaki shouted back. The thing shot around, hitting all of them and throwing them into each other. Daisuke swung madly at something in front of him and almost hit Masaki in the face.

"Watch it!"

"Sorry. Evee, on your right!"

Evee threw her arm behind her and successfully hit something—Kaien's ear.

"OW! Hey!"

"Oh! I'm sorry Kaien! I didn't mean it! The thing was moving too fast!"

"Never mind that! Masaki!" Kaien turned to his sister. "Evee and I will go get help. Will you guys be okay on your own?"

Masaki jabbed downward as the thing dashed in front of her only to have her zanpaku-to stick into the ground.

"We'll be fine, just hurry up!"

Kaien and Evee sprinted around the corner. Masaki pulled her sword free and swung it in a wide arc, sending a sheet of ice in its wake. Something small and dark blue was struggling to get out of the ice. Looking closer, Masaki saw its Hollow mask.

"Ha! I got it!" she shouted, throwing her fist in the air. "Daisuke, I got—Daisuke?"

He had completely disappeared. "Daisuke!" she shouted, starting to get frustrated. "Ichimaru, you sneaky bastard! Where'd you go?"

Suddenly, the Hollow broke free of the ice and shot straight at her midriff. The impact sent her flying backwards into something that wrapped around her before falling with her. It flipped her around until the next thing she knew, she was flat on her back, Daisuke on top of her, supporting himself with his arms on either side of her head.

"Ichimaru—!"

Something skidded across his back, sending blood showering down on the both of them.

"…ngh…sneaky bastard, am I?" he said, his voice sounding forced. His arms shook until they gave out, letting him fall sideways with one arm still draped over Masaki's shoulders.

"Ichimaru?"

He didn't answer, a dark, crimson puddle forming behind him. Masaki moved his arm and scrambled to her knees, leaning over him.

"Daisuke!"

Masaki jumped back to her feet to kill the Hollow. It was gone. The street was completely empty. She took a deep breath to calm herself down, made sure their bodies were hidden, then pulled one of Daisuke's arms over her shoulder.

Supporting him was an awkward process as Daisuke was a few inches taller than she was, but she made her way slowly home.

**BREAK**

Ichigo looked up as someone knocked on the door. He was sitting on the couch with Rukia next to him. She shrugged at him and he got up to answer the door. He almost dropped the remote in his hand when he saw who was on the other side.

Masaki's face was covered in blood and it took Ichigo a few seconds to realize that none of it was hers, but instead belonged to the boy she was supporting. A boy who looked eerily familiar.

"Masaki…who…?"

"His name is Daisuke Ichimaru. He was helping us fight a Hollow. Dad, he needs help. Badly."

"Ichimaru?" Ichigo's expression turned from shock to outrage. "No. Masaki, get him away from this house, right now!"

"What?" Masaki looked like she was about to collapse under Daisuke's weight. "Dad! Come on! What's wrong with him? He's helped us plenty of times, he sits next to us at school, he eats lunch with us—."

"I don't want you anywhere _near_ the son of that traitor!"

Masaki took a couple steps back, Daisuke groaning slightly at the movement. "What?"

"Ichigo, what are you yelling abo—?" Rukia stopped dead in her tracks upon seeing Daisuke's face. Her voice grew very quiet and Masaki almost didn't hear what she said next. "Masaki, just lay him down here and go up to your room."

"But I—!"

"Just listen to your mother!" Ichigo said through gritted teeth, still glaring down at Daisuke. Masaki glared at her parents, assuming her father's signature scowl, and gently set Daisuke on the ground again. She walked towards the stairs and paused at the bottom, on hand on the rail.

"You know, if Daisuke hadn't been there, that would've been me lying bloody on the ground," she said over her shoulder before going upstairs.

Ichigo flinched slightly upon hearing the bedroom door slam. He turned to Rukia who was still watching Daisuke as though he'd jump up and stab them at any moment. There was a long pause between the two before Rukia finally spoke up.

"Call Orihime."

"What?" Ichigo shouted. "We're really gonna—?"

"The faster we heal him, the faster he leaves," Rukia fixed Ichigo with a glare that instantly made him shut his mouth. "I know you want him out of here, but Masaki has a point. We at least owe him this much."

Ichigo glared at nothing in particular for a second before responding. "Fine." He muttered, picking up the phone.

**BREAK**

Kaien jumped at the sound of their bedroom door slamming. He saw Masaki storm across the room, throw the curtain aside, then heard her flop down onto her bed as the curtain fell back into place.

Normally, when his sister was in a bad mood, it was best to just leave her alone and let her work whatever it was out for herself. This time however, Kaien knew what was wrong and it involved his friend too.

"Masaki?"

He pulled back the curtain to see her lying on her back, arms crossed behind her head and staring up at the ceiling.

"Mm?"

Kaien awkwardly pointed to a spot on his face.

"You've got…uh…"

Masaki caught on and wiped at her face with her sleeve. She froze suddenly, her arms still resting on her face and her eyes going wide in realization.

"I'm still in my Shinigami uniform…"

"Yeah, so? So am I."

"That means our bodies are still out there."

Thunder crashed above them and lightning briefly lit up the room. The two hadn't even noticed it getting darker.

"Great…" Kaien mumbled. "At least I won't have to take a shower later."

Masaki raised an eyebrow at her brother.

"What?" he said, raising his hands defensively, "it was a joke!"

Masaki just shook her head and moved onto her knees, reaching out to open the window.

"Why are you going that way?"

"Because, my dear, clueless brother, there is going to be a _very_ awkward silence in going through the front door."

Kaien opened his mouth to argue, and then shut it, agreeing with his sister's logic.

"Just one more thing," he said as she got one foot onto the windowsill.

"What?"

Kaien grinned. "Do you like Daisuke?"

"Well, I _did_ just drag him, bleeding, all the way here…I guess I don't really hate him…I…_tolerate_ him."

Kaien's smile just grew. "No, I mean _like _him."

Masaki's eyebrows furrowed for a second before she figured out what he was saying. Her face quickly turned a new shade of red before she mumbled, "Of course not!" and jumped out of the window.

**Awwww…she**_** LIKES**_** him anyway, I hit a serious block before this chapter and there will be no more up after this until I get at least five different reviews from five different people.**

**And the Violent Spazz doesn't count. She's been reviewing. **


	9. Illusion of a Scary Movie

**!**

Chapter 9

Masaki wouldn't look at Kaien the entire time they flash stepped to the street corner. He couldn't help but grin when every time she caught his eye, she blushed madly and glared at him.

"I _don't_ like him," she said as soon as their feet hit the ground.

"Don't you?"

Masaki glared at him before going back into her body. "Just help me get Daisuke's body back home 'kay?"

Kaien held his hands up in surrender. "Whatever."

Once Kaien was back in his own body, they each grabbed one of Daisuke's arms and pulled them over their shoulders.

"So, what happens when we get this home?" Kaien asked, readjusting his grip on Daisuke's arm.

Masaki looked at the floor. "I didn't think about that…I guess we'll have to face the awkward silence anyway won't we?"

"Yeah, I guess…so, what was the point in going out the window?"

"Y'know, if you're just gonna sit here and question me, I'm just going to leave you here carrying Daisuke by yourself."

"Alright, fine! It was a legitimate question!"

Masaki just shook her head. Kaien opened his mouth to say something again when they saw an orange, black and pink blur.

"I'll take that," said a female voice behind them before Daisuke's body disappeared, along with the blur.

"What was that?" asked Kaien.

"I—I don't know…should…should we go after it?"

"It didn't really _seem_ like it was evil…"

"Kaien, the last blurry thing we saw is the reason there's a bloody Daisuke on our couch."

"Right…but we still don't know which direction it went."

"…good point…"

"Let's just go home and worry about it later. Besides, it's pouring," he said, looking up at the dark sky. Kaien suddenly grinned. "I'll bet Daisuke's awake by now. I wonder if he misses you."

"Shut up," Masaki punched Kaien in the shoulder before walking back towards their house. Kaien, still giggling silently, followed behind her.

When they got back, their parents were nowhere to be found, but Orihime was sitting on one of the kitchen chairs that had been pulled over to the couch. Daisuke was still unconscious, lying on his stomach while Orihime healed his back. He groaned, the pillow underneath him covering half his face. Orihime sat back in the chair, the orange bubble surrounding Daisuke's back disappearing.

"He'll be okay. The wound was deep, but it didn't hit anything important. He just needs to rest for a little bit," she said, her voice taking on a harsh tone. "I'll see you guys later."

And with that she stood up and left. The twins sat in silence for another minute or so before Kaien stood up and stretched.

"Well, I'm going to bed. You coming?"

"Nah, I think I'll stay down here. Make sure Dad doesn't kill him in his sleep or anything."

"M'kay," Kaien grinned at his sister. "Tell your boyfriend I said hi when he wakes up."

"Okay…" Masaki mumbled, not really hearing what he'd said. Kaien started sniggering and Masaki quickly shouted. "He's not my boyfriend!"

"Night Masaki."

Masaki just growled at her brother's retreating back, falling back into her chair, arms crossed.

Ten minutes later, she was dozing off, her eyes drooping as she jerked awake again. She was almost asleep when she heard something.

"…Saki…"

"Hmm?"

Daisuke seemed to be talking in his sleep. "…nice nickname…should start calling her that…"

His arms wrapped around the pillow he was laying on, a smile growing across his face. Masaki glared.

_Is he dreaming about me?_ She thought. Masaki got up from her chair and took Orihime's vacated seat. She could hear Daisuke snoring slightly. Her head tilted to the side, looking at the half of his face she could see. _He looks almost innocent when he's sleeping…like a little kid…_

"…of course I'll run away with you, Masaki…" he sighed, his voice slightly muffled by the pillow.

Masaki felt her shoulders droop as she looked at him and sighed. _Maybe not…_

She got up and walked to the kitchen, leaving the door open, grabbing a glass out of the cabinet and filling it with water. Her eye caught something outside the small window over the sink and she almost spit the water everywhere, dropping the glass. Aizen was standing outside the window, smiling calmly at her. This time he looked different. The whites of his eyes were a deep purple with no iris and his hair was longer. His mouth moved and his words carried through the open window.

"I have reconnected with the hogyoku's power. You won't be able to stop me this time."

Masaki backed into the counter behind her, not taking her eyes off of the man in front of her. He smiled and held up a hand as if beckoning her to come outside. Her hand traveled along the counter until it closed on a large knife. She quickly dove forward, slashing the knife in front of her with a yell. When she opened her eyes again, Aizen was gone, the screen of the window slashed across the middle. Masaki's hands shook as she backed through the doorway into the living room. She watched the window the entire time, keeping the knife up in front of her chest. Her back connected with something warm and she whirled around.

Aizen was standing in the living room, smiling at her as though he'd been invited. Masaki's eyes went wide and she thrust the knife straight at his chest. He grabbed her wrist, stopping the knife before it came anywhere close to him.

"Now, now, is that _any _way to treat your guests?"

Masaki let out a small whine of panic as his other hand came to rest on her shoulder.

"Let's finish what we started shall we?"

His hand moved closer to her throat, fingers slowly tightening until her breath caught.

"Goodbye Kurosaki."

"Masaki!"

Someone was calling her name…Daisuke? Was he still asleep? She couldn't will herself to look over at the couch; her vision was starting to fade in and out.

"Masaki what are you doing?" Daisuke shouted. "Snap out of it!"

Masaki blinked and suddenly no one was choking her. Daisuke stood in front of her, his long-fingered hand wrapping around her wrist to stop her from driving the knife into his shoulder. He watched her fearful expression. Her eyes started to fill with tears as she backed away, dropping the knife on the carpet.

"Dai—daisuke? Where—where did he go?" her voice shook slightly as she spoke. Daisuke had never seen her like this.

"Where did who go? Are you okay? What happened?"

Masaki didn't answer. Instead she took two steps forward and buried her face in his chest. He awkwardly wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

"It's okay?" he said, not really sure how to comfort someone when he didn't know the situation. "Don't—don't worry…"

He could feel her trembling in his arms. Whatever she had seen had really scared her. _Really_ scared her. He knew it couldn't be just a spider or shadow or something. She wouldn't react like this. His hand moved to hold her head gently to his chest.

"Masaki, what happened?"

She shook her head.

"If you tell me, I can help you."

She just shook her head again. Daisuke sighed. Fear may have made her almost completely change personality, but she was still too stubborn for her own good.

"Do you wanna sit down?"

She didn't do anything and Daisuke took that as a 'yes'. He led her back over to the couch and sat down next to her. Masaki looked up at something in front of her before her eyes went wide again.

"Daisuke! He's back!"

Daisuke followed her gaze and saw him.

Sosuke Aizen was standing in front of them. He wasn't smiling anymore. Masaki dove for the knife on the carpet but Aizen stood on the blade to keep her from picking it up. She tried to pull it out from under him and his foot moved so that he stood on her wrist instead. She gave a small yelp of pain before biting her lip and grabbing the knife with the other hand. She jabbed it into Aizen's ankle and he disappeared. Masaki scrambled back to her feet, looking around frantically. Daisuke sat wide-eyed on the couch, unable to move. Masaki slowly backed up until she sat next to him.

"Was that…?" he started.

"Yep."

"Aizen was…?"

"Yep."

"Are you able to give more than one word answers right now?"

"Nope."

"Didn't think so…"

They sat next to each other in silence, staring at the spot where Aizen disappeared. Slowly, Daisuke could feel Masaki stop trembling as their shoulders touched. Her shoulders relaxed but she was still gripping the knife so hard her knuckles were white. Daisuke looked over at her; she was sitting up straight, their shoulders barely touching. His eyebrows furrowed together as he noticed something under the collar of her shirt.

"Masaki…"

She didn't respond, still staring in front of her with a stunned silence. Daisuke slowly reached up and pulled her collar down.

This got a reaction out of her.

"What are you doing?" she asked, glancing at him before her eyes went back to the front.

"You have something right—oh…"

"What? What is it?"

"Masaki, turn around."

"What?"

"Turn around!"

Daisuke grabbed her shoulders and pulled her around so that she was almost facing the other direction.

"Daisuke, what're you—ouch!"

He had poked the almost hand-shaped bruise on her neck left from Aizen's fingers.

"Oh, jeez Masaki…what did he do to you?" Daisuke mumbled.

**Since The Violent Spazz is letting me spend the night to catch up on fanfiction, she wanted to say something.**

"**Am I the only that was researches depressing quotes pictures online and laughs at half of them?**

** -BAI!"**

…**maybe you are…And heavenlyXblueXangel, your reviews made me smile **


	10. To Soul Society

**So the waiting for reviews thing has given me time to really sit down and write a chapter without feeling guilt cause I don't update or discouraged because I think no one really reads this anyway…oh well…**

Chapter 10

The sand in Hueco Mundo blew in the almost non-existent wind under the moonlight. Two figures walked uncertainly toward a third. The two had long cloaks with hoods that covered their faces. The third figure approached them, smiling serenely, his purple eyes gleaming in the dim light.

"What are you doing back here?" one of the two, the man, asked. "I thought you were long gone in Soul Society prison."

"Clearly, as you can see, I'm not," said Aizen, his tone matching his expression.

"You didn't answer his question," the other, the woman, pressed.

Aizen just smiled.

"I only wish to talk. After all, it's been years hasn't it…Grimmjow?"

The man removed his hood to reveal spiked blue hair and a fanged jaw bone covering his right cheek. Aizen turned to the woman.

"And you, Neliel. It's been even longer."

The woman pulled her hood down as well and long green hair flowed down her back, a horned skull covering the top of her head.

"Aizen."

"I have an offer for you two. A job really."

"We're not joining you again," said Grimmjow bitterly, putting a hand on Nel's shoulder and turning her around. "We're leaving. We don't care what you have to say."

"What if I told you it involved Kurosaki?"

Grimmjow stopped in his tracks, glancing over his shoulder. "Kurosaki? _Ichigo_ Kurosaki?"

Aizen gave Grimmjow a look that clearly said who'd won this argument. "Exactly. Well, more specifically, his family. You see, our little Ichigo is all grown up now, wife and kids and everything."

Grimmjow felt a small grin spreading across his face. "Family huh? And what do you want me to do about it?"

He turned back around and took a few steps forward, closer to Aizen and leaving Nel behind him.

"Remember how desperate he was to save his friend?"

Grimmjow nodded. "I'm listening."

"So you've seen how attached he gets."

Again, Grimmjow nodded.

"So he'd be absolutely _devastated _if say…something happened to his wife?"

Grimmjow's grin widened. "Take out the family? You make it sound too easy. I'll do it on one condition: Kurosaki's there to watch every second."

Aizen smirked at the man in front of him. "Fine, but once you're done, Kurosaki is mine."

Grimmjow held out a hand. "Deal."

Aizen shook the outstretched hand, never breaking eye contact. "I have a few suggestions for you…"

**BREAK**

Kaien came down the stairs, yawning loudly, to see Daisuke and Masaki asleep on the couch. She was leaning on his shoulder and his head was back against the couch drooling slightly. Thinking he wasn't going to get another opportunity like this one, he pulled out his phone and turned on the camera.

_Click._

Daisuke's eyes shot open at the sound and his head jerked up. Masaki just resettled her head on his shoulder, making a noise that sounded suspiciously like 'smurf'.

He saw the phone in Kaien's hand aimed at them and grinned.

"Send it to me?" he whispered.

"She'll kill us both," Kaien whispered back. "What's your number?"

Daisuke gave his number as Masaki stirred awake.

"Where am I?" she mumbled sleepily, her words slurred. The grin immediately slid off of Kaien's face as he saw the finger shaped bruises on his sister's neck.

"Masaki, what happened?" he asked, kneeling down in front of her. Daisuke stood up and stretched, moving behind Kaien.

"What?" she asked, not quite understanding what Kaien was talking about. She looked up at Daisuke to see if he knew and he threw his hands to his throat, pretending to be strangled. Realization dawned over her face.

"You're not gonna believe me, but…Aizen came back."

"_What?_"

"Last night. He was here. In the house. He almost made me stab Daisuke with a kitchen knife."

"Yeah, thanks for that, by the way," Daisuke cut in.

"Oh, shut up, I was trying to attack him, not you. Anyway, don't tell Mom and Dad. We don't need them worrying anymore."

"But what if they see the bruises? They'll probably think Daisuke did it and want to kill him even more."

"What did I do?" Daisuke asked indignantly.

"I remember they said something about one of your parents being a traitor or something," said Masaki. "What was that about anyway?"

A dark look crossed Daisuke's face as he glared at the carpet. "My dad was one of the captains that defected with Aizen. Neither of us likes to talk about his past and I'm not proud of what he did. But that doesn't mean I'm going to follow in his footsteps." Daisuke's voice had morphed into a low growl. "He turned out to be a double agent. He was trying to get the Hogyoku for himself so he could destroy it. I guess your parents didn't hear that part."

"No, I guess not," said Kaien. The three of them stayed quiet before Kaien stood up again. "I'm hungry. Back in a little bit."

He left the room through the door into the kitchen, letting it shut behind him. Masaki looked at her feet.

"I guess that was the second time you saved my life. With the Hollow, I mean. Thanks…I guess…" she said. Daisuke looked at her as if she'd just admitted she loved him.

"Did you just thank me? Like an actual _thank you_? And here I thought you hated me."

"I don't hate you." The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. "I mean…I think you can be really obnoxious and slightly annoying sometimes, but I don't hate you."

Daisuke looked a little stunned for a second before sniffing and wiping away fake tears. "That was the nicest thing you ever said to me."

Masaki rolled her eyes. "Yeah, whatever."

"Well, I guess I should be going then," said Daisuke after a few seconds.

"Oh, your body! Kaien and I went out to get it and something took it. We were going to go look for it today…"

"My bod…oh! Oh, don't worry about it. That was probably my mom. My body'll be at home waiting for me."

"Why didn't she just ask for it then? If it was your mom?"

Daisuke got an odd expression on his face, something like a grin and frustrated look. "My parents are…odd…"

Masaki raised an eyebrow at him. He was about to go into more detail when a small black butterfly flew through the window and down the hall.

"Message for my parents," Masaki mumbled as the two of them watched it go.

"Which means they'll be waking up soon. And from what I've gathered, they don't like me very much…I should get going."

"Bye Daisuke."

He left as Kaien came through the kitchen door.

"Daisuke leave?" he asked through a mouthful of cereal.

"Just now. And a hell butterfly came for Mom and Dad."

"Any idea what it was about?"

Masaki shook her head, exchanging a mischievous grin with her brother. "Wanna go listen in?"

"Oh yeah," Kaien put his bowl and spoon down on the table and the two of them walked quietly down the hall, their footsteps padding slightly on the carpet. They had a silent argument about who got to listen at the crack at the bottom of the door and decided to both just put their ears to the door.

"…have to go to Soul Society, Ichigo. It's an important lieutenant meeting apparently," Rukia was saying.

"I just don't want anything to happen. We haven't exactly been having the best luck streak lately," Ichigo protested. Kaien glanced at Masaki who didn't notice.

"I'll be careful. Don't worry; Renji will be there too you know."

"All the more reason to worry," Ichigo grumbled. The twins smirked at each other. There was no doubt that Renji was strong, but there were moments where his ability to use that strength came into question.

"My brother will be there too. You know nothing gets past him."

"Except me."

Rukia gave a small laugh. "And only you. You'll be able to handle the twins on your own right?"

"Hey, have faith in me! Besides they're teenagers now and you remember the last time I was left alone with them."

There was a pause. "…I remember coming home to a small fire in the kitchen…On second thought, maybe I should take Masaki with me. You and Kaien can have a little guy time."

Masaki grinned at Kaien who shot her a jealous glare. Their expressions quickly changed and they sprinted back down the hall as they heard Rukia move toward the door. The two of them were sitting on the couch, trying to look innocent and to keep their breathing even.

"Hey, Mom," said Kaien cheerily. Masaki copied his tone.

"Morning."

"You two are happy this morning…" she looked around the room. "Did he leave?"

She didn't have to say who she was talking about.

"Yeah. A few minutes ago."

Rukia sighed. "So, Masaki, you want to come?"

The twins blinked simultaneously. "Huh?"

"Oh come on, I could feel your reiatsu outside the door. We both knew you were listening."

The twins smiled sheepishly and Masaki used the opportunity to pull her collar up higher to hide most of her neck. "Sorry. We saw the butterfly," she said. Rukia just shook her head. "Do you want to come? Or do you want to stay with your father and brother?"

"I'll come. I'm sure Uncle Byakuya has missed me terribly," Masaki replied sarcastically. She left her body slumped over on the couch. "When do we leave?"

"In about ten minutes. I need to let them know you're coming with me. I'll be right back and we'll go."

"Okay."

Kaien gave her a mock glare. "Lucky. I haven't been to Soul Society since we were ten."

"Yeah… six years since helping Uncle Byakuya with paperwork…"

"You mean, six years since we almost destroyed Uncle Byakuya's paperwork."

"I prefer to think of it as 'destructive bonding'."

They looked at each other straight-faced before they both burst out laughing.

"Hey—hey do you remember how _mad_ he got?" Kaien laughed. Masaki nodded, tears of laughter forming in her eyes.

"Uh-huh. He—he threatened to use—use his Bankai on us!"

"And his threat?" Kaien tried to make his voice deeper. "'If you weren't the children of my sister, you'd be dead in seconds.' And then—then we just ran."

"Yeah. It took us, what—twenty minutes to find our way out?"

"Yeah, something like that."

The two of them calmed down as Rukia came back down the hall.

"They answered faster than I thought. Ready?"

"Yep," Masaki answered, following her mother out the door. "Bye Kaien."

"Tell Uncle Byakuya and Renji I said hi."

"Will do," said Masaki, giving her brother a mock salute over her shoulder. The door shut behind them, leaving Kaien standing alone in the living room.

***reads back over flashback* …jeez Byakuya…it was just paperwork… it's not like they destroyed your house or discovered your secret stash of hair-care products…And Daisuke would be the master of charades. **


	11. What's going on here?

Ch. 11

Rukia and Masaki stepped through the senkaimon, Rukia pulling on her lieutenant badge.

"Go to my brother's house and hang out for a while. I'll come and get you when the meeting's over."

"Got it. I'll see you in a little bit," said Masaki, waving over her shoulder as she headed towards the Kuchiki mansion.

"Hey! Be careful! Don't take the short cut through the squad 11 barracks!" Rukia called after her daughter.

"I won't!"

Masaki flash-stepped away, running through the streets for a good ten minutes before realizing she had no idea where she was going.

"Crap…" she muttered, looking around at the identical buildings. Masaki spotted a random Soul Reaper walking by and ran up to them.

"Hey!"

He stopped, turning around. "Oh, I know you! Aren't you Lieutenant Kurosaki's daughter?"

"Yeah…hey, don't I know you?"

He stood straight, saluting her. "3rd seat of squad 13, Sentaro Kotsubaki!"

"Right…um, can you give me directions to the Kuchiki mansion?"

"From here? You need to go left for a few more miles, then take the right at the intersection, follow the street, take a left at the next intersection, and at the next one you come to, keep going straight. You'll find it."

"Thank you," Masaki bowed to him before taking off.

"You're welcome!" he shouted after her. He looked thoughtful for a second. "I didn't just send her through squad 11 did I? …nah."

Masaki flash-stepped through the streets, following Sentaro's instructions, until she came to the second intersection. Looking to her left, she saw what looked like a disaster zone while to her right looked clean and clear.

"Is he sure about going left? It's scaring me a little…Maybe I should go right…"

She took off, taking the right turn only to come to a dead end.

"Great…so I _have_ to go left…"

Masaki turned back the way she came and made her way quickly down the debris-covered street. She cringed slightly at a strange stain on the wall that looked like blood.

"Creepy…"

Not looking where she was going, she flash-stepped into something hard. When she looked up, she saw a man with spiked black hair, resting a long, battered sword on one shoulder. A small girl with pink hair clung onto his other shoulder.

"Well, well, what do we have here? Aren't you Ichigo's daughter?"

Kenpachi Zaraki looked down at her, a broad, manic grin on his face.

"Um…y-yes?"

"Oh, good. Then this should be fun."

He swung the sword down, slashing at her as she jumped backward.

"Captain Zaraki, I don't want to fight right now."

"Nonsense. If you're as good as your father, you should stand a chance of—hey, where'd you go?"

Masaki had flash-stepped around him and started running down the street, shouting, "Help! This guy's insane and wants to kill me!"

Kenpachi just grinned even wider and followed after her. Masaki made it to the next intersection, seeing the Kuchiki mansion at the end of the barracks.

_Almost there…_she thought. Kenpachi could be heard laughing behind her as she dived into the open courtyard.

"Nice try, Kurosaki. This was gonna happen sooner or later."

He stopped in front of her as she scrambled back to her feet, pulling out her zanpaku-to. Kenpachi pulled back his shihakusho to show his chest.

"Here, I'll even let you take the first shot."

"Um…in that case, how about we put this off until later?"

"No."

"Didn't think so…can I just say one more thing?"

"Fine, what is it?"

"Bye!"

Masaki whirled around and flash-stepped through the doors.

"Damn," Kenpachi growled.

"Aww, Kenny! She got away!" Yachiru piped up from Kenpachi's shoulder.

"Ah, well. I'll get her later."

And with that, he turned on his heel and left.

Masaki stood on the other side of the door, leaning on it and sighing in relief.

"That was close. So much for not going through squad 11."

"Masaki."

"Uncle Byakuya!"

Masaki quickly got off of the door and bowed.

"What are you doing here?" Byakuya asked.

"Mom told me to come here. I came with her to Soul Society and she said something about an important lieutenants' meeting."

Byakuya looked mildly confused for a second. "'Lieutenants' meeting'? What are you talking about? There _is_ no lieutenants' meeting."

"What? But she got a hell butterfly…could someone have faked it?"

"But, why would someone fake it? Unless—."

His breath caught in his throat.

"Uncle Byakuya?"

"Come with me."

He took off out the door, flash-stepping away.

"But I—never mind."

Masaki followed after her uncle, taking a different route than before.

_What's going on?_ She thought.

**BREAK**

Rukia walked along the wooden walkway of the barracks. She went into the usual meeting room only to find it empty.

"Where is everyone?" she wondered out loud.

"Did you seriously fall for that?"

Rukia turned to face the voice behind her only to be hit into the wall. A man stood in the doorway, a large grin on his face. She jumped back to her feet, zanpaku-to out and ready to fight.

"Grimmjow! I thought you were dead!"

"Yeah? Thought wrong didn't you?"

Grimmjow jumped at her again and she blocked. He forced her into the wall.

"Hey, you've gotten a little stronger since our last fight. Still nowhere near strong enough to beat me, but still."

Rukia pushed him away so that he no longer had her cornered.

"What are you doing here, Grimmjow?" Rukia asked, blocking another attack.

"Aizen wanted me to do some of his dirty work. He found a way to open a garganta into the Soul Society." Grimmjow dodged Rukia's attacks. "And don't worry, once I'm done with you, I'll move onto that daughter of yours. She came here with you right?"

"Leave her out of this!" Rukia shouted. "Tsugi no Mai! Hakuren!"

A wave of ice shot at Grimmjow, pinning him to the back wall.

"Cute," he said breaking himself out of the ice. "But a little bit of snow isn't gonna stop me."

He dashed at her again, this time cuffing her upside the head. Rukia flew into the table, crashing into the chairs. Grimmjow started to step toward her again when he heard a voice behind him.

"Mom!"

He turned to see a girl with black and orange hair standing wide-eyed in the doorway. Rukia pushed herself onto her elbows.

"…ngh…Masaki, I'm fine! Get out of here!"

Grimmjow looked between the two of them. "Oh, yeah. I see the resemblance. Don't worry kid, I won't kill your mom yet. Not until Dear Old Dad shows up."

Masaki growled and pulled out her zanpaku-to. "Who are you?"

Grimmjow smiled. "Grimmjow Jeagerjaques. Aizen sent me."

He moved until he was two inches in front of her. "I hear you have a little Hollow problem."

**...hmm…I can't think of anything I want to say….**


	12. Taken

**Sorry for the wait, but I've had a block and been having a bad week. Actually, two…anyway, here's the chapter.**

**Seriously. I, in NO way, own Bleach. I guess I kinda own, Kaien, Masaki, Evee and Daisuke, but…**

Chapter 12

Daisuke strolled casually along the streets of Seireitei, on his way to fill in for his mother during the lieutenant meeting. She had told him she had something more important she had to do. Daisuke had taken that as a sign that she just didn't want to do it in the first place. He sang to himself under his breath as he went.

"…Subete wo wakariaeru to omoi…Kitai nado shita jibun wo hajireba…"

He trailed off as one of the third seats from Squad 13 rounded the corner ahead of him.

"Kiyone!" he called brightly. "Hiya!"

"Hey Ichimaru," she said in a monotone. Clearly, she was busy with something. "Have you seen Lieutenant Kurosaki's daughter anywhere? Sentaro told me he saw her, but then I'm pretty sure he sent her off through Squad 11. I want to find her before someone else does."

"Masaki's here?" he asked. "Wish I'd known that sooner…anyway, I'll find her, don't worry about it."

"Oh, right, I guess that _is_ your job after all. I'll let you get back to it."

Daisuke had started towards Squad 11 when he heard a yell from the building in front of him and was soon greeted by a wall of cherry blossoms shooting at him. He jumped to the left and stood in the air.

"Looks like Byakuya's down here too…"

A dark shape moved from inside the cherry blossom-blades and a man with spiky blue hair fought his way out. He had a large hole in his gut and a jaw bone along his cheek.

"Oh, that's new," Daisuke muttered. He raised his voice, directing it towards the hole in the wall. "Masaki! You all right in there?"

"Oh great. It's you," came a voice from inside. A small figure detached itself from the rubble and Masaki stumbled toward him, coughing in the dust which clung to her hair.

"Yeah, you're fine," Daisuke called, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder. "Who's the new guy?"

Masaki looked up at him and shouted, "Daisuke, move!"

"Huh?"

He turned to see the man coming up behind him, a cero forming in his hand. Masaki tackled Daisuke out of the way just as the cero shot in his direction.

"What's wrong with you?" she shouted, as soon as they were on their feet again. "If someone's attacking you, you don't turn your back on them!"

Daisuke noticed her sleeve was singed and smoking a little.

"He hit you," he said quietly, staring at the hole the burn had left.

"What?" Masaki looked down at her sleeve and shrugged off the attack. "He just hit my sleeve. Daisuke, seriously, you need to pay attention."

Daisuke put a hand on her shoulder. "He's not gonna hit you again. Promise."

"Daisuke, what're you—?"

Before she could finish her question he was in the air again. "Hey! Fuzzy! Here kitty, kitty, kitty!"

"Daisuke, you're just gonna make him angry!" Masaki called up to him. Sure enough, Grimmjow came back out of the wall, a low growl coming from deep in his chest. He glared up at Daisuke.

"Stay outta this, kid! It's not your fight!" He readjusted something in the crook of his arm. "Besides, I got what I came for."

Daisuke furrowed his eyebrows together. "What're you talking about?"

Masaki saw it before he did.

"Mom!"

Grimmjow had Rukia under one arm. She wasn't moving and her lieutenant badge slipped off her arm and onto the ground. Masaki ran at Grimmjow who held up his other hand and fired another cero. Her eyes widened and she skidded to a stop as the greenish light came speeding towards her. Something wrapped around her waist and pulled her into the air just as the cero blew another hole in the wall behind her. Daisuke kept one arm around her waist and the other around her shoulders as the girl struggled to get free.

"Let me go, Daisuke!"

He just held on tighter.

"I said, let. Me. GO!"

Daisuke almost lost his grip on her but he recovered and held her closer. "Masaki, you can't fight him alone! He's just gonna kill you too!"

Masaki stopped struggling and looked at him, wide-eyed. "What?"

"I mean—not that your mom's dead or anything—I'm sure he wouldn't have taken her if she were—," Daisuke sighed. "Never mind, you know what I meant."

He finally let her go and she step-jumped back to the ground. She looked around wildly for Grimmjow but had no luck. She was about to go back into the building when a rumbling sound filled the air. Dust fell from the ceiling and Masaki jumped backwards as the building collapsed.

"Uncle Byakuya!"

Something moved in the newly formed rubble and a pale hand fell out of the dust.

"Captain Kuchiki!"

Daisuke moved to help Masaki dig in through the rock and bits of ceiling until they uncovered Byakuya's chest and most of his face. He still seemed to be breathing.

"Help me dig him out!" said Masaki frantically. Daisuke could visibly see her trembling as he got down on his knees to help when she suddenly shouted, "No, wait! Go get someone from Squad 4. I'll take care of him…"

She continued to dig as fast as her hands would let her. Daisuke scrambled to his feet and ran off towards the relief squad's barracks.

**BREAK**

Ichigo, Ulquiorra, and Orihime all sat at the kitchen table, staring silently at the lieutenant badge sitting in the middle of it. Kaien stood, leaning against the wall, Evee moving to put a hand on his shoulder. Masaki sat on the couch, Daisuke next to her. Ichigo had protested Daisuke even being near the house, but one look at the badge in his daughter's hand had shut him up. Now Daisuke's arm was wrapped around her shoulders and he was rubbing her left arm consolingly. Her head fell onto his shoulder, but when he looked down at her, she was still glaring fiercely at the carpet.

The silence was broken by the front door bursting open. Uryu and Chad came inside, Chad having to duck and nearly breaking the door as he slammed it shut.

"We heard what happened," said Uryu as they came over to the table. He put an apologetic hand on Ichigo's shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"I don't know if there's anything we could do, Ichigo," said Orihime quietly. Ichigo looked up at them, surprised.

"You're all talking like she's dead. She's not dead. We can find her! We've just gotta look in the right place!"

He'd risen from his chair with each sentence. With a grunt from Chad's direction, he sat back down. Everyone was staring at him. Even Masaki had stopped mentally burning a hole in the carpet to look at him.

"That's the thing, Ichigo," said Uryu.

"We don't know where the right place is," Ulquiorra finished, turning his gaze back to the badge. "For all we know, Aizen's had her killed alrea—."

"RUKIA'S NOT DEAD!"

The room went silent at Ichigo's outburst.

"She's not," he said, quieter. "I'd know if she was…"

"Where do you propose we look then?" Ulquiorra asked tensely. "Hueco Mundo?"

Ichigo was quiet for a second, then, "Actually, yeah…Maybe Las Noches is still up and running…he could've taken her there…I mean, where else could he take her?"

"The Dangai Precipice, hidden somewhere in the world of the living, or in the Rukongai districts. There's some pretty cut-throat people there," Uryu pointed out. "They'd have no qualms about hiding someone who could possibly be a hostage."

Ichigo opened his mouth to disagree with the word, then closed it. He liked 'hostage' better than 'dead'.

**Please, please, please review and have at least one bright spot in my bad day streak?**


	13. Disobeying Orders

**Okay, so I have a picture drawn of Kaien, Masaki, Evee and Daisuke. I have yet to upload it, but here in a couple days or so, I'll get it up on deviant art. Go to deviantart dot com (except with an actual . instead of the word) and look up cheezestixshallrule. **

Ch. 13

The adults sat at the table for a good hour or so, discussing places Rukia could've been taken. The children had secretly been listening in, creating a sort of plan on their own.

"…you know, I think she really might be somewhere in Hueco Mundo," Kaien was saying quietly.

"She couldn't be," Masaki hissed under her breath. "It's too obvious."

"But that's exactly why she could be there," muttered Evee.

"She has a point," Daisuke whispered. "We wouldn't be expecting it _because_ it was too obvious…"

"…should look in the Rukongai districts," they heard Uryu say. "We could split up and have one group go there, the others can look here in the World of the Living."

"What about Hueco Mundo?" asked Ichigo.

"I wouldn't count on it," said Ulquiorra. "Aizen's not _that_ predictable."

"Was he ever really predictable in the first place?" Uryu asked, almost sarcastically. Chad grunted from his spot across from Orihime. There was a small silence before he continued. "So it's settled then? That's where we'll look?"

There was a collective nod and sound of agreement from around the table. Ichigo looked down at his hands. Why wasn't he leading this? It was _his _wife they were looking for, after all.

"What about us?"

The group looked up at the sound of Evee's voice. The four teenagers were facing the adults, Masaki and Daisuke leaning on the couch, Kaien on the wall and Evee stepping forward slightly. She had her hands folded in front of her chest, waiting for an answer.

"What do you mean?" Uryu asked finally.

"She means you're not the only ones who want to look," said Masaki. "Kaien and I have just as much right to look for Mom as you do."

"No way," said Ichigo, standing up again. "We don't want anything else happening."

Masaki noticed him glance in her direction and rolled her eyes.

"Well," Daisuke cut in, "I could get _my_ parents to go, if you're so against us looking."

Ichigo glared in his direction, Orihime tried to keep a calm face and Uryu and Chad shared a glance with the others. Even Ulquiorra looked slightly objective to letting Gin Ichimaru help.

"Or, just my mom…" he added hastily, seeing the hostile glares. The expressions softened slightly.

_Rangiku I trust,_ Ichigo thought. _…enough, anyway…_

"Do it," he nodded to Daisuke. "I guess we _could _use one more person."

"So why not let us go?" Kaien shouted indignantly.

"Because you're sixteen," said Uryu sternly, pushing his square glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Hey, Dad," Masaki started sarcastically. "Remind us how old you were when you saved Mom from being executed?"

"Fi-fifteen," Ichigo grumbled sheepishly. "But that's not the point!"

"So you can lead a siege on the Soul Society at fifteen, but we can't help rescue our mother at sixteen?"

"Masaki," Daisuke put a hand on her shoulder. "I think you should back—."

Masaki just growled at him, her father's perma-scowl on her face, and he quickly removed his hand, holding them up in surrender.

"You're not going. Don't say anything about it, don't even think about it."

Kaien opened his mouth to say something but Masaki cut him off.

"Okay."

"What?" the other three looked at her in surprise. Kaien looked on the verge of exploding. Masaki took a very deep breath and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Okay. We won't go."

Kaien looked at his sister as if she'd slapped him. "But—but you—why—_what_?"

"Why did you just completely change your mind?" Evee asked, voicing what Kaien was trying to say.

"I get it: Mom's been Shinigami-napped and Dad doesn't want anything to happen to us too."

Ichigo just sighed. "Thank you."

He walked around the table and towards the door, the others following him.

"We'll be back soon," he said over his shoulder. "Daisuke, tell Rangiku to meet Chad and I in the Rukongai districts."

And with that, they were gone.

"Come on," said Masaki after a while.

"And where are you going now?" Kaien asked.

"Hueco Mundo," she replied bluntly, moving past her brother and up the stairs.

"Huh?" Kaien was just confused now.

"But you said we wouldn't go," Evee pointed out.

"I had my fingers crossed."

She had her hand on the door knob to their room now. "Daisuke, call your mom and tell her to meet my dad and Mr. Sado. When you're done with that, meet us on the roof."

Masaki walked through the door and they heard her open the window and start to climb onto the roof.

"Who put you in charge?" Kaien muttered under his breath. He and Evee followed Masaki while Daisuke reached for the phone.

_It's gonna be a long night,_ he thought.

**BREAK**

Rukia blearily opened her eyes and saw the blurred figure of a man standing in front of her. He came into view and she saw Aizen, back turned to her, talking to someone else she couldn't see. She lunged at him, but felt something around her wrists and waist jerk her back to where she was sitting.

"What the…?"

Oddly colored chains kept her close to the wall.

"Oh, you're awake."

Aizen had heard the chains rattle when Rukia had tried to attack him.

"I was beginning to think sending Grimmjow after you was a bad idea. I need you alive for now."

"Bastard…" she muttered, glaring up at him. "Where am I? What did Grimmjow do with Masaki?"

"Relax. Grimmjow told me he fired a cero at her, but something pulled her out of the way. She's fine for the time being…and don't bother trying to break out of those chains," he added, noticing Rukia pull on them again. "They're made of sekki-sekki rock. If I recall, it was the same stone your cell was made from when you were to be executed, was it not?"

Rukia glared at him. That had been his fault too.

"What do you want? Why do you want to hurt Ichigo so badly?"

"Because he ruined the entire plan." Aizen crouched down in front of her. "His merging with his zanpaku-to was the one thing I _hadn't _counted on. He was the flaw in the plan. Flaws must be removed."

Rukia noticed a change in the man in front of her. His eyes were all purple now, not unlike when he'd fused with the Hogyoku. His hair had grown longer and flowed down his back. Unexpectedly, his hand shot out and forced Rukia's face to look at his.

"And because of this, I want the last words that ever leave you to be of pure hatred for him. Know that it's because of him that you are going to die."

**BREAK**

"C'mon, Kisuke, please?"

The four teenagers had made their way to the Urahara shop, leaving their bodies at the house 'asleep' in the living room. They'd been hoping to use Kisuke's approximation to the garganta to get to Hueco Mundo. He'd outright refused.

"No chance," he said brightly from behind his fan.

"Why not?" Kaien asked.

"Because, I figured if your parents were stupid enough to make me godfather, I probably shouldn't betray the little trust they have in me."

Masaki sighed in irritation before she got an idea. "What if we use it without your knowledge?"

Kisuke raised an eyebrow at her. "Meaning?"

"You let us use it, and we won't tell anyone you let us through."

Kisuke grinned. "You're blackmailing me." It wasn't a question. "Alright. You've got me by that logic."

He stood up and they followed him into the basement.

"Okay, now you have to promise me you'll all come back alive. If that's the case this subject might not even have to come up at all? Deal?"

"Uh-huh…" said Evee, a slight question in her voice.

"Perfect."

A loud groaning noise filled the air and the fake-garganta opened in front of them.

"Be careful now," Kisuke said as it closed behind them.

"Um…he never told us how to move in this thing…" said Kaien, pointing over his shoulder.

"Yes he did, remember?" Masaki pressed. "We found it when we were younger and he told us then."

"Right…" said Kaien slowly.

"You don't remember do you?"

"Not a clue."

"Okay. You make a path with your own spirit energy. Like this." Masaki took a step forward and a small block of light appeared under her foot. Daisuke imitated her along with Kaien and Evee and they made their way through the dark area surrounding them.

"So, how much longer does this go on?" Daisuke asked.

"Focus!" Masaki shouted as the block of light Daisuke was about to step on disappeared. They'd been walking for what they felt was at least half an hour. "We're almost there. Look up ahead!"

There was a small light opening up and they quickened their pace. The four of them stepped out of the garganta only to feel air under their feet and falling forward into the sand.

"Come on, we have to keep moving," said Kaien, scrambling to his feet and helping Evee up.

"No, I'm good," Daisuke sighed contentedly. He had landed with his arms wrapped around Masaki and they were now lying, facing each other, in the sand.

She glared at him, pushed him in the chest and stood up.

"Focus, Daisuke," she growled. Kaien could've sworn her face looked a little red. She looked up at the moon in the starless sky. "Didn't Mom and Dad say this place had an artificial sun when Aizen took over here?"

"Guess it went away with him," said Kaien, noticing she was trying to change the subject. "Let's start looking."

"Where?" Evee asked, walking forward. "It's just sand and dead trees for mi—woah!"

Her foot suddenly sank into the sand, going all the way up to her knee.

"Evee!" Kaien rushed forward to pull her back out. "You okay?"

"Yeah…I think—I think there's a hole here…"

"Yeah, and you just fell into it."

"No, I mean, it felt like my foot was dangling…I think there's something down there."

Kaien's eyebrows furrowed together and Masaki and Daisuke joined him in looking at the spot where Evee had fallen into the sand.

Masaki pushed gently on the sand, her hand easily going through, and kept going until she was lying on her stomach, the sand all the way up to her shoulder.

"Yeah…it feels really open…like it's an underground cave or so—."

"Masaki!"

She suddenly disappeared through the sand as if something had grabbed her arm and pulled her through. Daisuke and Kaien dug frantically at it and jumped backward about a foot in the air when Masaki's hand shot through and beckoned them to come down. The three on top shared a look before Evee tentatively stuck both feet into the hole.

"Ah! Masaki, no don't pull me—!"

Soon Evee had disappeared as well.

Daisuke shrugged and followed. Kaien watched as his head disappeared before sticking his own feet into the hole. He felt at least two sets of hands grab his legs and pull before he saw nothing but dark.

…**Why did this last part make me think of Doctor Who?**


	14. Separation and New frenemies

**I apologize for the long wait and short chapter. I was at a block and I'm trying to catch up on school stuff. You know how that is. And thanks to all the people who reviewed during the wait.**

**It made me happy.**

**I don't own stuff. You know the drill.**

Chapter 14

Kaien coughed sand out of his mouth and looked around. They were in what looked like a cave. A tunnel led into pitch black shadows ahead of them.

"So…shall we?" asked Daisuke, starting to walk down the tunnel. He had barely taken two steps when a rumbling sound filled the air.

"What is—?"

Masaki was cut off by four walls suddenly appearing and separating them from each other.

"Hey!" Masaki beat on the wall in front of her, trying to get an answer. She got no response from the others whatsoever. Giving up when she accidentally cut open one of her knuckles, she turned and slid down the wall, sighing. "Great. Now what?"

As if in response, the wall in front of her opened to reveal another tunnel. She raised an eyebrow at it before standing up.

"Well, I guess I should follow the dark scary tunnel…that seems like a good idea…"

**BREAK**

Kaien stood with his arms held over his head. He slowly opened his eyes to see a wall on every side of him.

"Ah, crap, I'm stuck in a box."

Glaring at one of the walls, he walked over and kicked it. Kaien quickly jumped backward, holding his possibly broken foot.

"Gah! Okay, okay, not my smartest idea…"

There was another rumbling noise and Kaien flinched only to see a hole open up in the wall behind him. He put his foot back down and stared.

"Hello?" he called down it. His own voice echoed back to him. _Hello…hello…hello…_

"Creepy…" he muttered, looking both ways. "But…I guess it's my only way out."

**BREAK**

Daisuke turned to the walls.

"You cut her off in mid-sentence," he pretended to scold them. "That wasn't very nice."

He glared at the wall for a few more seconds before sighing.

"I'm talking to a wall," he groaned. "What's wrong with me?"

After he didn't receive an answer from the wall, he turned on his heel to face the tunnel.

"Well," he said, popping his knuckles. "Better figure out where this goes."

**BREAK**

Evee stayed where she was, her heart racing and nose almost touching the wall. It had almost smashed her when it appeared. Satisfied that it wasn't going to move again, she let out a breath and backed away.

"What do I do now?"

The wall behind her suddenly split into a large crevice and two small figures peeked out at her as she whirled around.

"We found you…" one of them said.

"We'll have to take you now…" the other one said, smiling. They seemed to be small children, about eight years old.

"Who are you?" Evee asked, her voice shaking.

"I'm Moru," said the one on the right.

"Koroshi…"

They moved closer and Evee saw that they were two small boys, both arrancars. Moru had small horns sticking out of his black hair from under which blood red eyes stared curiously out at her. Long claws took the place of his nails and the jet black hole showed on his chest beneath tattered white clothing. Koroshi had a mop of black hair like his brother but his mask seemed to actually form that of a skull's face with fangs on the side. He wore a torn white vest, the hollow hole in his stomach. His expression was darker than his brother's. His eyes were the same color as Moru's but held none of the same curiosity.

"Is Aizen here?" Evee asked.

"Was," Koroshi muttered.

"What do you mean was?"

Moru just stared at her. "You're like us…but you're different…"

"What?"

He pointed at his chest. "You don't have a hole…"

Evee blinked at him. "Well…I guess I _am_ part human, but…I'm a…I'm…." she hung her head. "I don't really know what I am…"

"You should come with us," Koroshi insisted, taking a step forward.

"That depends where you're going," said Evee nervously. Moru laughed.

"Heh. She's funny Koro. Can we keep her?"

"I think I'd have to say no on that," Evee started, backing into the wall. Moru pouted at her.

"Oh, you're no fun."

"Are you sure you don't wanna come with us?" Koroshi asked.

Evee glared at him. "Completely."

Koroshi sighed, suddenly looking far older than he was. "Alright, Moru. You can do what you want. I'm gonna go try and find the other ones."

He turned and walked back down the crevice, disappearing after only a few seconds.

"Yay! Koro said we can play!" Moru flexed his claws. "Ready?"

Evee's eyes widened and she raised her arms. "Strike! Angele—ngh!"

Moru's claws went straight through her gut, the claws on his other hand grazing across her face.

"Aww. Are you done playing already?" he had a manic grin on his young face. "I thought _you'd_ last longer than that."

Evee staggered the two steps backward to the wall. Moru pulled his claws out and jumped backward.

"C'mon, lady! I know you can do better than that!" he called. Evee stayed on her feet, but it was obvious she was struggling to do so. "Still gonna play with me?"

Evee took a shaking breath. "I don't have choice do I?"

Moru grinned at her. "Nope! Let's play a game."

**Ok…I think I may have just ripped off Saw…**

**Moru: Maul**

**Koroshi: Loosely translated-Kill**

**You can kinda see where I got their names and how they might act later on. **


	15. We have to save Evee

**Longer than 14 (WOOT!) and has some action in it…more searching stuff…have fun, I guess…**

Ch. 15

Ichigo scratched the back of his head as he walked down the streets of one of the Rukongai districts.

"Hey, you!" He stopped an old man about to go inside his house.

"Can I help you?"

"Yeah, have you seen a Shinigami come through here recently?"

"Yeah, you. I need to help my wife clean the house, if you'll exc—."

"No!"

The old man turned to stare at him.

"Uh…" Ichigo cleared his throat. "Um, she's about," he put his hand up to the level of his shoulder, "this tall, black hair, piece of it between her eyes? Should've had a lieu—." He'd forgotten Rukia had dropped her badge. "Never mind. Anyway, have you seen someone like that?"

"Now, that I think about it…I remember a little girl like that, years ago…she helped some delinquents steal water from me. Hmph. Now, I _may_ almost remember seeing her recently…my memory's a little…foggy," he held out his hand as if expecting Ichigo to give him something.

"I don't have any money!"

"Oh, that's a shame…have fun with your search then."

The old man turned and went into the house.

"Hey! Wait!"

Ichigo was ignored and he assumed his signature scowl. "C'mon, Chad, let's go look over—."

"Ichigo."

When he turned around, Chad was pointing at something. He followed his friend's gaze to see a young woman trying to hide behind the corner.

"Hey there," said Ichigo, walking over to her. "You can come out, y'know."

The woman took a step forward. "I—I think I can help you…"

**BREAK**

Rangiku walked calmly through the streets of one of the districts, keeping on the lookout for Ichigo's orange hair.

"They should've said which district they'd be in before telling me to come out here…"

"Hey! Wait!"

Rangiku's head snapped up.

_I know that voice…_she thought.

A little ahead of her, Ichigo and Chad were turning around to talk to a young woman who seemed to be hiding behind the corner.

"Ichigo! Chad! Over here!" she called brightly in a sing-songish voice. The two looked up at her as she waved and walked towards them.

"Rangiku! Where've you been?" Ichigo asked. Rangiku pretended to pout at him.

"Aw, c'mon Ichigo cut me some slack. You didn't even tell me which district you were going to be in. I've been looking all over for you guys."

"Whatever. I think we may have a lead." He turned back to the woman. "What can you tell us?"

"Well…there was this guy with blue hair…he came through that building over there," she pointed at an old building that was missing most of its roof. "He was carrying someone that looked like the woman you described…and then I heard this noise…it sounded like someone was groaning…it was really loud. I went to go look and they were both gone."

Ichigo lowered his head, giving a hollow laugh before he stood up and started to walk away. "I was right…I guess they were in Hueco Mundo. C'mon Chad, Rangiku, we need to find the others and tell them. And thank you!" he called over his shoulder to the girl. "You were a big help!"

**BREAK**

Kaien growled as he came to another dead end.

"Dammit," he muttered. "I can't see anything. How am I supposed to know where I'm going? What was I thinking? There was gonna be a sign saying 'Your mom's over here'?"

He heard the rock shift on his right.

"I was just kidding," he said, a little more nervous. Something was down there with him. That much was obvious. He cleared his throat. "Hello?"

"Oh, it's you."

A little boy with a skull-faced mask and black hair stepped forward. "I wanted to find one of the others. They looked like they'd be more fun...I'm turning back."

"Wait!" Kaien took a step forward, hand resting on his zanpaku-to. "Show me a way out."

"I don't know a way out."

"You got in here somehow," Kaien reasoned. "Show me where you went."

The boy held out his arm and pointed at the blank wall next to him. It cracked open and formed another tunnel.

"Go that way. Now leave me alone, Mister. You're getting annoying."

Kaien grumbled a poorly thought out comeback before starting through the tunnel. He'd barely taken two steps when a large guillotine blade came out of nowhere and stuck in the ground in front of him.

"What the hell? You trying to kill me?" he shouted behind. The boy didn't answer. In fact he seemed to have disappeared entirely. Kaien turned back to the blade that had narrowly missed his toes. "Maybe it's full of booby traps…"

He picked up a rock next to him and threw it ahead. It hit the ground a few feet away and spikes came through the floor. Getting an idea, Kaien pulled the front of his shihakusho out of his belt and used it as a sort of pouch while he gathered up rocks. At each obstacle, he threw another and triggered another trap. He was almost at the last one and was about to throw another rock when he felt a sharp pain in his temples. He fell to his knees, jumping backward as fire erupted from the walls. A message started to play, vague images following before they got clearer.

It was the little boy from before and another one who looked to be his brother.

"Three hours."

_Huh?_

The boy's voice rang through Kaien's head and he squeezed his eyes shut. The brother was dancing around, slashing at something with long, deadly claws. The thing tried hopelessly to defend itself, but before it could try anything, the brother slashed again with incredible precision. He didn't seem to miss. Every time he zoomed past, blood shot out from somewhere on the figure.

"You have three hours to complete my mazes. If none of you make it, or one of you dies, we'll rip your friend to shreds and leave the pieces for you to find later."

The picture cleared slightly and Kaien got a better look at the figure being attacked as they fell to their knees.

"Evee!" Kaien called out, knowing she couldn't hear him. "Evee hang in there!"

She was covered in cuts and gashes, her face nearly unrecognizable under all the blood. One of her eyes was swollen shut and her left arm wouldn't move as she raised her right to block another attack. Kaien watched her open her mouth.

"Strike! Angeles Veng—!"

_SLASH._

"ngh…Strike! Angeles—Ah!"

_SLASH_

Evee was breathing heavily now and she gripped her newly cut shoulder, struggling to her feet. "S-strike, Ang—."

_SLASH_

"Evee!" Kaien called out again, keeping his eyes shut.

Evee's knees gave way again. "Strike—…"

_SLASH_

Evee cried out and used her good arm to support herself. Her eyes stayed fixed on the dirt as she hung her head.

"…stri—…"

_SLASH_

Blood stained Evee's back as four new gashes appeared. Her arm shook and refused to support her weight. With a soft thump she fell into the blood-stained dirt. Kaien could still hear her trying to say her release command.

"…st…stri…strike…"

Soon just her mouth moved, no words coming out.

"That's enough, Moru!" the skull masked brother called. Moru skidded to a stop near Evee's feet.

"Aw…I thought she'd last longer…"

The skull-faced one spoke again. "I'll let you know when your three hours are up. Go."

Kaien's eyes snapped open and he jumped through the last trap, straight into the opening of a giant maze.

"Time to channel my inner lab rat…" he thought.

As soon as Kaien was completely in the entrance, it sealed off behind him, cutting off any way of escape.

**Okay…now I REALLY feel like I'm ripping off of Saw…and I've never seen any of them…**


	16. Taking a Turn for the Worse

**Sorry for the late update! I apologize! But, I hit a block…in more ways than one…**

**Still do not, in any way, own Bleach. **

Ch. 16

Masaki continued down the tunnel, her shoulders tense as the scene played in her head again. If they didn't hurry, Evee wasn't going to make it…She shook her head and kept going. Something moved behind her and she whirled around.

"Who's there?" she asked, holding her sword in front of her.

"Aww…you saw me. I guess I don't hafta hide anymore."

A little boy with small horns sticking out of his hair and claws jutting from his fingers came out of the shadows.

"Wanna see a trick?"

"Not really, no."

The boy's face fell and he sat in the dirt.

"You're no fun."

"Sorry to disappoint you. I gotta go. See you, kid," said Masaki, moving to go by him. Suddenly she felt something shoot up her leg and her Hollow's voice rang through her head.

"**You actually **_**want**_** me to come out this time? Whatever, I was getting bored.**"

"No! You're not getting out!" Masaki shouted. She turned to the boy. "What did you do?"

He held up one of his hands and she saw blood on one of the claws. Her leg stung as she took a step forward.

"I started a new game," he said grinning. Masaki opened her mouth to say something when the white mass that formed her Hollow mask took the place of her words. Blackness snaked across her vision until she couldn't see anymore and was thrown into her inner world.

Moru smiled as the girl in front of him grinned, her eyes black and yellow and half of a Hollow mask on the left side of her face.

"**Thanks for letting me out,**" she said, starting to walk away.

"Hey! You can't leave!" Moru shouted, springing to his feet.

"**Watch me**."

There was a snap behind her and blood spurted out of her mouth, stopping her in her tracks.

"**What the—what did you do?**" she rounded on Moru. "**Answer me!**"

Moru just grinned. "I control everything about you right now. I can send you back in—," he snapped and for a second, the mask shattered and Masaki's eyes turned brown again. "—and I can bring you back out."

Another snap and the Hollow was back, growling at him. "**You little bastard. Let me go!**"

Moru actually laughed. "So you can go help your friend?" he pretended to think. "Nah. It's more fun this way!"

"**I don't **_**want**_** to help that little brat. She can die in a hole for all I care. Let me go so I can get out of here before my idiot master gets herself killed.**"

He pouted again. "You don't wanna play a game with me?"

She scoffed. "**After seeing the last game you played, no way in hell.**"

"But, I was gonna use you to find the other people," said Moru, still pouting. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"**I'm listening.**"

Moru's face brighted again. "One of them should be getting out of his trap soon. You guys are actually just in one giant maze—Oh, wait." He slapped himself in the forehead. "I wasn't supposed to tell you that…oh well. When he comes out, you guys can play, 'kay?"

"**Better idea, why don't **_**I**_** go look for **_**him**_**?**"

"Yes! That's a great idea! Go! Go go go go go go!" Moru turned her around and pushed her forward. The Hollow grinned. She could feel _exactly_ which one was coming. And fortunately, it was the one that would upset _her_ the most.

**BREAK**

Daisuke beat on the wall as water flooded the small room. He'd almost cracked it just as the water went over his head. Using the hilt of his sword along with his shoulder, he beat on it, hoping it would crack before he ran out of air.

He got his wish and seconds later was washed out with the rest of the wall into another hallway. Gasping for air, he stood up; shaking his head like a dog and making his hair stick to his face. He heard footsteps and scrambled for his zanpaku-to. He got it up just as a figure came around the corner.

"Masaki! How'd you find me? Are you—Masaki?"

He got a better look at her face—or at least the half of it he could see.

"**Found you,**" she said, a grin spreading over her face.

**BREAK**

Rangiku and Chad followed Ichigo down the streets.

"We need to get to Hueco Mundo," he said over his shoulder. "I told you she was there!"

Chad didn't respond—Ichigo didn't really expect him to—and Rangiku just rolled her eyes.

"We have to find a way to let Ulquiorra, Orihime and Uryu know to get there first though…Would it be a waste of time to go back to the world of the living, or—?"

"Ichigo."

Chad cut him off, nodding ahead of them where the three people they were talking about came around the corner, jogging toward them.

"We couldn't find her anywhere in the World of the Living," said Uryu as soon as they were within earshot.

"I know," said Ichigo, stopping him before he could explain. "Rukia's in Hueco Mundo. Grimmjow took her through a garganta."

"There's something else, Ichigo," Uryu continued. Ichigo's eyebrows furrowed.

"What is it?"

"It's seems our children didn't heed our command of 'Stay here'," said Ulquiorra irately.

"Their bodies are sitting in your living room," Uryu took over the explanation.

"I bet they went to Hueco Mundo," said Orihime. "They were so adamant about Rukia being there…"

Ichigo pinched the bridge of his nose. "So, not only does Aizen have my wife, he probably has my kids too?"

Uryu nodded gravely.

"Great."

"Wait, Kaien and Masaki?" Rangiku cut in. "I remember them! They're so cute! Well…I guess it _has_ been about six years…" she gasped dramatically. "That means they're almost all grown up! Oh, Ichigo, you must feel so old!"

She hugged him from behind and his face burned.

"Focus, will ya?" he shouted. Rangiku let him go, a fake pout on her face and mumbled something that sounded like, "Killjoy…I was just trying to lighten the mood…"

She went from pout to rage as she fully took in Ulquiorra's statement. "Wait, so that means Daisuke's there too? Oh, he is in _so_ much trouble when he gets back!"

"So, how are we getting to Hueco Mundo?" Uryu asked, cutting off Rangiku. Ichigo turned to Ulquiorra.

"Ulquiorra, can you still summon a garganta?"

The arrancar shook his head.

"It appears that power left me when you nearly killed me."

Ichigo avoided his gaze.

"Doesn't Byakuya have a way?" Uryu asked. Chad grunted in agreement.

"Oh, yeah. Rukia and Renji used it last time."

"Will he let you use it though?" Orihime asked. "You two aren't exactly the best of friends…"

"He _is_ my brother-in-law now…if he doesn't like it, that's his own problem. I'm sure he'll understand our reasoning…"

The group made their way to the squad four barracks where Byakuya was recovering from the attacking ceiling.

"Byakuya," Ichigo started as soon as they entered the room. Byakuya was sitting up in the bed, his eyes closed, looking almost annoyed. "We think Rukia may be in Hueco Mundo. We need to use your gate."

He didn't answer and Ichigo spoke up.

"Did the ceiling turn you deaf? I said we need your gate to get to Hueco Mundo!"

Byakuya still didn't respond, but looked as irritated as ever. Ichigo opened his mouth to repeat himself again when Byakuya finally spoke.

"Lieutenant Abarai."

The others turned to see Renji standing in the doorway, looking almost livid. He took two long strides across the room before grabbing Ichigo by the collar and shaking him roughly.

"Why didn't you _tell_ me Rukia was missing?" he shouted. "Why did I only just now hear about this from a random Soul Reaper instead of, oh, I don't know, maybe her _husband?_ What the _hell_ have you been doing?"

Ichigo shouted almost louder than Renji. "Looking for her! What do you _think_ I've been doing? And now my kids are there too! So if you think I've just been sitting around doing nothing, you've got another thing coming pal!"

"Kurosaki, Abarai."

The two men looked at Byakuya who still had his eyes shut. "Stop shouting, people are trying to rest," he looked at Ichigo. "If you must use it, go ahead. I'm not stopping you."

Renji let go of Ichigo who turned to his brother.

"Thanks."

Byakuya gave him a look and Ichigo nodded.

"I'll find her, don't worry."

"Go."

The group of now seven went to the Kuchiki manor and went through the gate. They came out in a dark cave that seemed to go on forever.

"Where are we?" asked Rangiku.

"We're underneath Las Noches," said Ulquiorra in his usual monotone. "Aizen had a labyrinth built under his stronghold just in case something were to happen."

"Of course he did," said Ichigo exasperatedly. "If it's a labyrinth, there's no way we're really gonna get anywhere in a group. We should split up at the first place we can."

That place turned out to only be a few feet away.

"Right, everyone has to promise to come back alive," said Ichigo, turning to the others. "Got it?"

They all nodded and Renji grinned.

"I'm getting the feeling of Déjà vu here," he said. Ichigo gave a humorless laugh.

"Yeah."

"If we do end up running into someone, don't let it be someone who can project the fight into the rest of our heads," Orihime cut in, remembering her time in the fortress above them.

"Promise," said Ichigo with a grin. "Ready?"

Everyone stood at a different entrance, Ichigo in the middle with Ulquiorra and Orihime, and Rangiku on his right and Renji, Chad, and Uryu to his left. They all nodded and Ichigo turned to face down the tunnel.

"Go!"

He took off, his echoing footsteps the only sound as he went. The tunnel seemed to go for miles before he finally emerged into a large, open cave. He slowed to a stop and looked around, his breath catching in his throat as he heard movement several feet away from him. Ichigo's hand gripped Zangetsu on his back.

"Who's there?" he shouted.

"Don't you recognize me?" a voice responded. Ichigo faltered for a second. He knew that voice…

A small figure stepped forward and was soon close enough for him to see. It was plain that the person was an arrancar and as his eyes adjusted he saw more familiar features until he was sure of whom he was looking at. His mouth went dry. It couldn't be…

_No._ "Rukia."

**Again, I apologize for the extremely late update (at least I gave you a long chapter this time) but Wheatley (my laptop) sort of died and I hit a block. I'm actually using my dad's laptop to write this so…yeah…**


	17. Masaki vs Daisuke

**Alright here's the huge fight you've been waiting for…you know who you are.**

**Bleach is not in my ownership. **

Ch. 17

Daisuke stepped carefully towards his friend, her eyes following him like a hunter. He wasn't sure what to do.

"**You know one of us has to attack sometime,**" she said, never once letting him from her gaze.

"I figured that much…can't we just talk this out?" Daisuke asked half-heartedly, one hand on his zanpaku-to.

"**No.**"

She lunged at him and Daisuke just barely blocked in time.

"Didn't think so—watch it!"

Masaki faked to the right and jabbed at his chest. He blocked her arm just in time.

"That was close, huh?" he said, pushing her backward. She landed, cat-like, a few feet away.

"**Oh, I'll get closer.**"

She lunged again, kicking his feet out from under him, knocking his sword away and pinning him to the ground. Masaki pulled her hand back, a small red light forming.

_Ah jeez._ "Hey, look, we're having our first fight," he said jokingly. The cero forming grew even larger and Daisuke's eyes widened. "Masaki, you don't wanna do this," he said almost frantically.

"**Guess you don't know me that well, huh? Ce—.**"

Daisuke shut his eyes and waited for her to fire when he heard her breath catch. He opened one eye to see she'd frozen where she was. The cero disappeared but her arm still hovered above his head. The mask stayed in place but her eyes flashed back to normal for just a fraction of a second.

"Daisuke?" she muttered quietly.

"Sorry Masaki," he took his opportunity and shoved her off of him, making a dive for his zanpaku-to. Daisuke rolled onto his back, holding the blade up to stop her next attack.

"**You got lucky that time, but I can promise you that won't happen again!**" she said, followed closely by an insane laugh. She grabbed the blade, ignoring it cutting into her palm, lifted it with Daisuke still holding on and flung him across the cave and into a wall. He started to get back to his feet when she dashed for his head and he ducked out of the way.

"C'mon Masaki! Snap out of it!"

She gave another laugh before swiping at him with her own sword. The tip of the blade grazed his chest as he jumped back another few feet.

"**Oh, she lost control a **_**long**_** time ago. It's just me and you, pretty boy!**" She jabbed at his leg and cut one of the ties on his sandal.

"You can imagine my delight," he said sarcastically, blocking another blow.

"**C'mon, hit back!**" she said, swinging blow after blow. "**You're not gonna last too long if all you do is block!**"

As if to prove her point, she got around his sword, managing to cut his face before he moved away. Daisuke wiped the blood from his face. They had both stopped and he was breathing heavily.

_She's right_, he thought. _I can't keep blocking. I have to do something fast._

Before she did anything else, Daisuke turned on his heel and ran as fast as he could, flash-stepping occasionally as she chased after him.

"**Coward!**" she shouted. "**Get back here! I'm not done with you yet!**"

He kept running. At least if he ran, neither of them were attacking, and it'd give him an opportunity to try and get through the maze to Evee. After a little bit, he slowed down, realizing she wasn't following him anymore.

Daisuke turned around to see her a few feet away. She stood still, the sword still in her hand.

"Masaki?" he asked, thinking she was trying to take over. "Masaki can you hear me?"

Her sword suddenly moved from her side and Daisuke jumped back to avoid the attack before the sword never came near him. Instead it moved to sit against her throat, her still black and yellow eyes glaring at something next to her.

"**Damn you,**" she spat at a small figure who came out of the shadows. The little boy licked at some of the blood dripping off his claws.

"You were starting to get boring. He didn't like the game we were playing."

Moru flicked one of the claws upward and Masaki's sword moved closer to her neck. Daisuke stepped forward as she flinched.

"You should fight back, Mister," said Moru, turning to Daisuke. "If you don't, I get to have some fun," he stopped and thought for a second. "Actually, don't do anything! I wanna play some more!"

He jumped at Masaki, claws raised and Daisuke dashed forward, throwing his arms out. Moru's claws raked across his chest and Daisuke cringed.

"You wanna play now?" Moru asked cheerily. "Yay! He's gonna play with us! Okay! Go!" and with that, he disappeared through a crevice in the wall that disappeared as soon as he was through. Masaki let out a sigh and her sword dropped as she regained control of her body.

"**That little bastard,**" she mumbled.

"He's controlling you?"

"**What was your first clue?**"

Daisuke sighed. "I guess we have to fight, huh?"

"**Not necessarily,**" she said. "**I could always just kill you and run.**"

"Oh, now where's the fun in that?"

"**Here,**" Masaki jabbed and slashed at him until he was backed into a wall. She took a couple steps back to swing at him with full power and he held his sword straight out, the tip hovering just above her chest. To his surprise, she stopped and grabbed the blade, pulling it closer.

"**Do it.**"

"Huh?" he said, blinking in confusion. She pulled it even closer until he could feel it pushing against her.

"**Kill me. Only one of us is gonna get out of here. If you're gonna kill me, kill me. If you don't have the balls to do it, stand down.**"

She took a small step forward and Daisuke felt the sword cut through the fabric and start cutting into the middle of her chest.

"Stop!"

She stayed where she was, cringing slightly, but still standing her ground. The look in her eyes scared him. She was glaring at him and he wondered if she would try and impale herself on his sword.

"**Anything you could do to me is **_**nothing**_** compared to what they would do.**" Daisuke was surprised by the almost frightened tone in her voice. "**I'm going to die down here. It may as well be the less painful way out.**"

Masaki started stepping forward again and now Daisuke could see blood spreading across the front of her shihakusho.

"No!"

"Sorry, Daisuke…"

His eyes widened. That wasn't the Hollow's voice. Once again, her eyes had turned back to normal, but her mask stayed where it was. Moru was still controlling her. Another step brought her closer and the sword went through, the tip sticking through her back. Blood shot out of her mouth as she coughed and looked up at him. There was a small smile on her face and the Hollow mask shattered away.

"…bye…"

He felt her lean completely on him and hugged her to his chest. She muttered something that was muffled by his uniform and his brain was working too frantically to process it.

"Masaki?"

She didn't reply and Daisuke tried to slow his thoughts so that he could think clearly.

"Okay. Dad told me how to handle something like this…what do I do?" He racked his brain for the memory. "Oh! Wait! I remember! Hang on, Masaki, this may take a little bit…"

He placed his hands over the wound on her back and started to focus his reiatsu on the spot. He could feel her shallow breathing against his chest grow softer and softer and tried to focus as much of his spiritual pressure as he possibly could. Daisuke shut his eyes, his eyebrows furrowing in concentration.

_C'mon…c'mon Masaki…you're stronger than this…_

Ten minutes later, he was starting to give up when she coughed again, tensing up in his arms as the wound closed. He sighed in relief and hugged her, ignoring that she was trying to push away from him.

"Daisuke—can't—breathe—too tight!"

"Oh, right! Sorry!"

He let her go and she sat up, her eyes still looking a little hazed over. Suddenly, what she had mumbled earlier clicked in his brain and he grinned at her.

"Hey, Masaki…"

"Yeah?"

He took in her appearance; she honestly just looked tired. There were shadows under her eyes and her face was pale. Her hair was messy and she looked like a puff of air would knock her down. The grin slid off of Daisuke's face.

"Nothing. Let's get going. I think there's a way out this way."

He helped her to her feet and they walked down the long tunnel, Masaki hardly noticing that Daisuke still had a tight grip on her hand.

**Ok, to be honest, that last sentence was for .Spazz. She keeps getting onto me about getting Masaki and Daisuke together…honestly, I'm not really sure what I want to do with them. **

**And fear not my few readers! I haven't forgotten about the arrancar Rukia thing…I'm just putting it off because I like messing with you people. ;D**

**Oh, and what she said to him? …well, I'll just leave that up to your imagination.**


	18. Be Afraid of the Dark

**Okay, so I'm curious to see how you guys picture my characters. If you could, please draw one or more of them out, upload it and send me the link in a PM or review or something. Just because I'm bored. And no drawing any of the characters from the original Bleach series.**

**I really really really really really really really really really really don't own Bleach.**

Ch. 18

Ichigo's hand tightened on Zangetsu's hilt.

"Who's there?"

"You don't recognize me?"

The figure stepped closer and Ichigo couldn't believe what he was seeing. It couldn't be…

_No._ "Rukia."

"Hello, Ichigo," she said, smiling. The bone fragments were barely noticeable, but nonetheless there. They weaved in and out of her hair making what looked like braids.

"Rukia," Ichigo repeated. "He turned you—I was—I'm sorry."

He closed the gap between them, lifting her off her feet as he hugged her. "I was too late, I'm sorry…he got you…"

"Ichigo, I'm still here aren't I?" she said. "It's not like he killed me for good. Baka…"

Ichigo grinned at the term. "We're getting you out of here, just as soon as we find the kids—."

"Kids?"

She pulled away from him slightly to look him in the eye. "What are the kids doing here?"

"Looking for you."

"How could you let them come?" she shouted, punching him in the chest. "What were you thinking?"

"Ow! Hey, back off! I _did_ tell them to stay behind! You know them! They didn't listen…"

She let him pull her close again.

"Don't worry, we'll find 'em," said Ichigo.

"I'm sure I will…"

Ichigo took a second to let the words sink in.

"Wait, what do you mean yo—?"

Ichigo felt something stabbing into his back and jumped away, the thing catching him in the shoulder as he did so. He looked back up to see a knife in her hand, a cold grin on her face.

"Rukia…?"

"I _really_ can't believe you fell for that."

**BREAK**

Rukia sat against the wall, trying to figure how long she'd been there. Her wrists were red from pulling against the shackles and she had a long cut across her face from one attempt where she'd almost freed herself. She was about to start pulling again when Aizen walked into the room.

"You're in luck. Our dear Ichigo is here," he said, unlocking one of the cuffs. Rukia's hand shot out as soon as it was free only to be caught by Aizen's hand. "I wouldn't try that again if I were you," he said, his voice losing most of the oily charm it had been faking. "You wouldn't want anything to happen to your children, now would you?"

Rukia's eyes widened. "You said they weren't here," she said, her voice hoarse from the lack of use.

Aizen shrugged and unlocked another shackle. "They take after their father. They have a sort of…hero complex, I guess you could say…especially the girl, she's the worst of the two—."

Rukia lunged at him again when her other hand was free, forgetting the shackle around her waist. She cringed as it knocked the wind out of her. Aizen grabbed both of her wrists, pulling her to her feet.

"Ah, ah, ah…what did I just say? Grimmjow!"

The blue-haired man entered the room supporting Kaien's unconscious form. Blood poured from his hairline and his foot stuck out at an odd angle. Rukia didn't say anything, staring at Kaien as Grimmjow threw him to the ground.

"The girl got away, unfortunately," said Grimmjow, nudging Kaien with his foot. "Someone was helping her. She did look like she was in the best shape. If that guy had been any slower, I'd have them both."

Aizen didn't seem to regard his comment, moving to stand over Kaien.

"Y'know, the guy kinda looked like that Ichimaru guy who defected with you. Didn't know he had a kid."

Aizen's head snapped up. "What?"

Grimmjow looked a little surprised at the action. "Yeah…looked just like him 'cept his eyes were open and his hair was kinda orange…is he someone I need to look out for?"

Aizen shut his eyes for a second before the grin returned to his face. "Do what you want with him. Just bring me the girl. And I want her alive!" He shouted to Grimmjow's retreating back. The arrancar waved over his shoulder to say he'd gotten the message before disappearing down the tunnel.

**BREAK**

Daisuke and Masaki sprinted around another corner before sliding down against the wall.

"Was that—the guy—from earlier?" Daisuke panted. Masaki just nodded, clutching a stitch in her side.

"Thank you," she mumbled after a few minutes.

"Huh?"

"He almost got us back there. You should've just left me, I was dragging you down."

"You're hurt. I'd be surprised if you didn't drag me down." Daisuke grinned. "And you _were_ holding my hand pretty tightly."

Masaki's face burned and she was glad for the dark. "First, _you_ were holding _my_ hand, second, if I let go, I would've tripped us both."

She sighed and let her head fall back onto the wall. "This place is too big," she groaned. Daisuke joined her and closed his eyes for a minute, realizing just how tired he really was.

"We need to keep moving," he said grudgingly. "He might be right behind us."

"Daisuke, if he was right behind us, he would've caught us by now."

"Okay, then he's nearby behind us. Let's go."

He pulled Masaki to her feet and wrapped one of her arms around his neck, and his free arm around her waist. They continued down the tunnel before finding another turn. Daisuke paused.

"What's wrong?"

"It's pretty dark down that way."

"It's dark here too, let's go." She started to take a step forward and Daisuke's grip on her tightened.

"It's darker down there. It doesn't feel right."

"Well there's no other way around, unless we go back."

Daisuke looked behind them before looking ahead again. "I don't know which would be worse. Facing that guy, or going down this way…"

There was a loud crash of rock on rock and they jumped, Daisuke holding Masaki closer to his chest.

"Okay, I vote down the dark, scary tunnel," she said.

"Agreed."

They started down, not noticing the small boy with a skull mask walking away from the wall he'd just sealed off.

Masaki and Daisuke walked slowly, not able to see two inches in front of them in the pitch darkness.

"Okay, now I'm starting to feel it," said Masaki. Daisuke felt her shoulders tense. He had a feeling though, that whatever was in the dark, she wasn't ready for a fight. As if to prove his point a small bluish light appeared a few feet away. It grew until it lit up a figure in the darkness, a large manic grin on his face before he shouted, "CERO!"

"Get down!" Daisuke shouted, tackling Masaki to the ground. He could feel the heat from the flame on his back as it soared over them before they were plunged into darkness once more. Daisuke stayed silent, keeping Masaki underneath him to shield her from any other attack.

"C'mon out!" a voice called. It echoed off the walls and they couldn't tell where it was coming from. "You're safe enough, Kurosaki. Aizen wants you alive."

Daisuke felt a pair of hands grab his shoulders and throw him into the wall on the other side. Masaki felt a hand wrap around her throat and lift her into the air.

"He just said I have to bring you back alive. He didn't say you had to be in one piece."

She felt the other hand tear into her shoulder and cried out, attempting to kick the man she couldn't see.

"…ngh…Get—get away from her!" Daisuke shouted from across the room. He heard Grimmjow's insane laughter bounce off the walls in response. _What do I do?_ He thought. Suddenly, he smacked his hand to his forehead. _My zanpaku-to glows, and I'm an idiot._

He pulled it out and the blue light illuminated a few feet around him. He moved around until he found Grimmjow pinning Masaki to the wall and a lot of blood. There was a long slash down her shoulder and her right sleeve was hanging on by a few threads.

"Dai…suke…run," she said, reaching out a hand to him before it dropped limply to her side. Daisuke growled and flung himself at Grimmjow, zanpaku-to raised. The arrancar just laughed and stepped to the side, putting Masaki right in Daisuke's path. He pushed the tip of his sword down just in time, but his shoulder still rammed painfully into hers. He heard a small whine of pain escape her before he jumped away again because Grimmjow's hand shot straight for his head. Daisuke's foot caught something and he fell backwards. Next thing he knew, Grimmjow's foot was on his chest, keeping him on the ground. By the sound of it, Grimmjow still had Masaki in one hand.

"Was _that_ the best you could do? Soul Reapers have gotten weaker after all these years." His foot pressed down harder and Daisuke felt a few of his ribs crack, shouting out loud. "Pathetic."

Grimmjow moved his foot and smashed Daisuke's head into the ground. The boy under his foot stopped moving and Grimmjow smiled.

"C'mon, Kurosaki. Let's go say hi to mommy dearest."

**Hm…I am a violent person…I was listening to an inuyasha playlist on youtube while writing this and all the attack songs and the songs that play when Naraku shows up started playing…youtube seemed to be aware of what I was typing…**


	19. We're Dead

**So, this is the third time I've had to switch computers…this has not been my month. Anyway, chapter 19, here you go….**

**I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good…and that I don't own Bleach….**

Ch. 19

Ichigo jumped backward, barely dodging the knife again.

"Rukia!" he shouted. "Why are you doing this? What did Aizen do to you?"

"You idiot," she said, taking another swipe at him. "I'm not Rukia."

Ichigo stopped short, confused and the knife hit him in the arm.

"Then who are you?" he asked, trying to ignore the pain shooting up his shoulder. She smiled at him.

"My name is—was—Hisana Kuchiki."

Ichigo's eyes widened. "What?"

**BREAK**

Rangiku turned the corner only to find complete darkness.

"Whoa…I hope they didn't go down there…well, one way to find out…"

She used a Kido spell to make a small light and continued on. After about ten minutes, a figure appeared, lying on the ground.

"Hello?" she called out. The figure didn't move and she stepped closer. "Oh, god! Daisuke?"

She knelt down and pulled her son's head into her lap. His face was bloody and it looked like his nose was broken. "Daisuke, can you hear me?"

He groaned quietly and turned his head to the side. "Five more minutes, Mom…"

Rangiku smiled. He was fine. "C'mon Daisuke. Let's go find your girlfriend."

"M'kay," he mumbled vaguely as Rangiku pulled his arm over her shoulders.

**BREAK**

Aizen smiled at the woman struggling in his arms.

"You won't get away. You're going to die. And Ichigo will watch the entire thing. Now," he threw her ahead of him. "Defend yourself."

Rukia scrambled to her feet just in time to avoid Aizen's attack.

"What are you getting out of this?" she shouted at him, ducking as he swung at her head. "What could you possibly gain from all of this?"

"Revenge on Ichigo Kurosaki. I lost literally everything when he defeated me. I want him to feel the same." He kicked out and caught her in the side, sending her sprawling into the wall.

"You're insane!"

"You've noticed. How sweet of you."

Rukia blocked his next two attacks and he grinned.

"Let's make this a little more interesting."

Rukia's eyebrows furrowed in confusion until Grimmjow came in through a hole in the wall supporting the twins who both looked worse for the wear. Rukia lunged at Aizen and he easily pushed her away.

"What did you do to them?" she shouted. "Answer me!"

"The boy seemed to have found an unlucky spot in the maze," Aizen answered calmly. Grimmjow shook Kaien roughly.

"Wake up!" he snapped. Kaien's eyes fluttered open and he reached a feeble hand up to try and remove Grimmjow's, only to have it fall back down.

"Your daughter, however," Aizen continued. Rukia's eyes widened as Grimmjow grinned. "Well, she had a little trouble with the cat."

Masaki's head lolled onto her shoulder. Her right shoulder had a long, bloody gash along it and the sleeve was completely gone. There seemed to be even more blood on her chest from a wound that almost wasn't there. Her face was far too pale and she didn't seem to be breathing. Grimmjow dropped her and Kaien to the ground, kicking her in the side.

"I know you can hear me!" he barked. "Get up! I got a job for you!" he kicked her again, harder this time. "C'mon!"

She didn't respond and Kaien, now on his knees, crawled over to his sister and shook her shoulder.

"Masaki?"

Not even a twitch. There wasn't even a sign of her Hollow attempting to come out.

"Masaki, c'mon…get up…" Kaien's voice sounded like a pathetic little kid. "C'mon…you're the big sister, remember? You gotta stick around to take care of me…"

He flopped down on the ground next to her.

"Sorry…this was my idea…we shouldn't have come here…" his voice trailed off as his eyes closed.

Rukia's knees gave way underneath her and she fell to the ground.

"Oh, that's a shame," Aizen's voice came from behind her, barely getting through. "I was going to have them fight each other. Oh well, this probably would've been the result anyway—."

Rukia suddenly lunged for his throat shouting, "BASTARD! I'LL KILL YOU!"

Aizen was genuinely surprised by her sudden outburst and barely got his hands up in time to block. His fingers wrapped around her throat and held her at bay. She clawed at his hand. He wasn't grinning anymore.

"Are you watching, Ichigo?" he shouted. The wall next to them opened suddenly to show Ichigo fighting an arrancar.

Rukia stared, wide-eyed at the woman he was dodging. _She looks just like—._

Aizen's sword stuck through her chest, all the way to the hilt. It stayed there for a few seconds as she started to go limp in his hand, her violet eyes hazing over as she muttered one last word.

"…Ichigo…"

Ichigo dashed forward, a loud ringing in his ears as his blood ran cold.

"No. No! RUKIA!"

**And I'm going to leave you there…until next time…**


	20. The Gang's All Here

**Okay, so I greatly apologize for the incredibly long wait, but this is the first time I've had access to a computer in forever. Anyway. Enjoy. **

**If I owned Bleach, Warner Bros. wouldn't have been able to get the rights to make a live action movie.**

Ch. 20

Evee stayed on the ground, keeping one eye barely open and waiting for Koroshi to leave. After about 20 minutes, he did and Evee pushed herself into a sitting position. She cringed at the sight of her arms, covered in cuts and slashes. Slowly, she stood up and had to use the wall to support herself.

"I picked a good time to play dead," she muttered, making sure she was alone. Staying along the wall, she found her way out of the room and down a long hall. "Please let me find someone soon…"

**BREAK**

Ulquiorra hurried along the dark hall, Orihime on his heels. He slowed to a stop when he heard rock shifting in front of them.

"Who's there?" he called. A tall figure came into view and looked up at them with a surprised expression.

"Evee!" Orihime exclaimed. She started forward before freezing in her tracks at seeing the cuts all over her daughter. Ulquiorra kept going and pulled Evee away from the wall, supporting her by the arms.

"Evee, can you hear me?" he said, trying to stay in her wavering line of sight.

"Dad?" she mumbled before falling forward, hearing the distant call of "I reject!".

**BREAK**

Kaien blinked slowly and tried to push himself up only to flop against the wall in a sitting position. He was vaguely aware of a fight occurring around him. His eyes shut and when they opened again, he was surprised to see the almost scarred face of Evee leaning over him.

"Evee, how did you—ow!" he tried to sit up more and just settled back where he was.

"My parents found me after the little kid left. You shouldn't move around too much."

Kaien stayed where he was, blushing slightly as Evee wiped some of the blood from his face.

"We're gonna get you guys out of here and then the adults are going to come back and help fight Aizen. We shouldn't have come, Kaien," Evee's voice cracked slightly as she sat back on her heels. "We played right into his hands. He wanted you and Masaki here so he could kill you all at once…" her gaze drifted over to Masaki's unmoving form and she sniffed a little. "Did he—?"

"No, she's alive," said Kaien, looking sadly at his sister. "I think. Anyway, how are we getting out of here?"

Evee looked over her shoulder at her parents who were trying to coax Ichigo into putting Rukia down so that Orihime could try and heal her. Ichigo seemed to be shaking his head, holding Rukia tighter and rocking slightly back and forth. Finally something seemed to snap inside him because he slowly set Rukia down on the ground and got to his feet. He had a blank expression on his face and when he looked up at Aizen who was smiling idly at him, something stirred in his eyes.

"I'll kill you," he mumbled, barely over a whisper. He repeated those three words, steadily getting louder as he did before his Hollow mask suddenly appeared and he drew his sword. "_I'LL KILL YOU!_ BANKAI!"

The spiritual pressure in the room increased, making a few of them flinch. Ichigo charged at Aizen, the black energy trailing behind him. Just as he did this, Renji burst into the room, Zabimaru drawn, took one look at where Orihime was healing Rukia and copied Ichigo's actions.

"AIZEN!"

Aizen, without looking away from Ichigo, flared his reiatsu, wrenched Zabimaru from Renji's hands and deflected Ichigo's attack. Ichigo skidded back a few feet away and Aizen flung Renji away, throwing the sword after him.

"You'll have to do better than that, Ichigo. Look around you. Your friends and family are all here to watch you fail—," He looked at Masaki and Rukia, "—well, most of them, anyway. You can't kill me."

Aizen didn't notice as Uryu slipped in through the opening, putting a hand lightly on Evee's shoulder.

"Are you all okay?" he asked. Evee shook her head. "Not exactly. Masaki's pretty beat up and so is Kaien." She exchanged a look with Kaien. "I don't even know where Daisuke is."

"We'll have to find him on the way—."

Uryu was cut off by a fist appearing through the wall next to them. Seconds later, Chad had created his own door and was stepping through it.

"The walls changed. I got cut off," he said in response to their surprised looks. Uryu shook his head.

"Never mind. Do you remember a way out?" Chad nodded with a grunt and Uryu turned back to Kaien and Evee.

"Evee, I need you to help Kaien. I think his ankle's broken. I'll get Masaki and then Chad and I will come back to help get Rukia out, okay?"

The teens nodded and Kaien wrapped an arm around Evee's shoulders. Uryu was about to pick up Masaki when Daisuke and Rangiku came through the bigger opening.

"Oh, look, the gang's all here!" Aizen called, a manic grin on his face as he deflected another of Ichigo's attacks. He and Renji couldn't seem to land a blow and at one point almost cut each other. "Look at yourself, Ichigo! You're not going to win this fight! None of you will!"

Daisuke knelt down next to Uryu, cringing at the movement. "I can take her."

Uryu looked at him skeptically. "Are you sure?"

Daisuke grit his teeth and nodded. "I'll be fine."

Uryu exchanged a look with Rangiku who ran over to help Orihime and Ulquiorra. After a moment's hesitation, he joined her, leaving Daisuke to pull Masaki into a sitting position and set her up against the wall. He sighed, wiping a bit of blood from her cheek with his thumb.

"What am I gonna do with you?" he asked her. He scoffed. "What am I saying, can you even hear me right now?"

A voice suddenly shouted from across the room. "You up, Kurosaki? Wanna play with the kitty?"

Daisuke turned to see Grimmjow charging toward them and drew his sword. He was bracing himself for the impact when Chad suddenly appeared in front of him, blocking Grimmjow's attack with his arms.

"Get out of here!" he shouted over his shoulder. Daisuke put his sword away and bent down by Masaki again. He hooked one arm around her shoulders and the other under her knees and lifted her up, bridal-style into the air. He caught Uryu's eye and the man came over to the group of teenagers.

"We're gonna have to find our own way out. Ready?"

There was a chorus of "Yeah"s from three of them and the took off through the opening. Aizen saw this and his expression darkened.

"Grimmjow, keep them busy. I have a little bit of pest control to take care of," he said, flash-stepping away from Ichigo and Renji, who nearly collided, and took off through the opening after them. Renji and Rangiku tried to follow, only to be stopped by Grimmjow.

"What, does no one wanna play with the kitty?" he said, grinning from ear to ear.

**BREAK**

"Aizen's following us!" Evee gasped, panting from the effort of moving quickly and supporting Kaien.

"What?" shouted Uryu, looking over his shoulder. Sure enough a tall figure was dashing after them. "Damn."

He stopped and held his hand out, summoning his Quincy bow. "Keep going. I'll keep him busy."

The three of them kept moving as fast as they could, going around a corner. Uryu leveled the bow at Aizen's approaching form.

"I sure hope this works," he mumbled. He pulled back and let loose a string of arrows, most of which Aizen avoided. Uryu fired again and this time at least five of them lodged themselves in Aizen's chest. The other man went down, crashing into the ground and skidding until he lay at Uryu's feet. Uryu's eyebrows furrowed together and his eyes narrowed.

_That was too easy_, he thought. He suddenly felt a stabbing pain in his back and looked down to see the tip of a sword sticking through his chest.

"You didn't honestly think that was me, did you?"

**Yeah, I'm just evil like that. Any way, I'm going to be going on vacation here in a couple days, so I KNOW I won't update for a while…again…sorry…**


	21. We Almost Made it Out

Okay, I'm aware that I've been gone a while…in fact, some of you may have thought I was mauled by a bear on my vacation or something. Any way, I wrote this chapter kinda fast so, bear with me. It's not my favorite.

Ch. 21

The three teenagers continued to run, unnerved by the sudden silence behind them.

"What's that up ahead?" Daisuke asked, jerking his head in front of them. Evee squinted in the darkness before her eyes widened in surprise.

"I think it's sunlight! It may be a way out!" She pushed her legs to go faster, half dragging Kaien along with her. Seconds later, they burst out of a small cave, nearly tripping on the sand. Daisuke shifted Masaki in his arms to shield his eyes from the sudden sunlight.

"I never thought I'd be so happy to be in an endless desert," said Kaien, letting out a sigh. Evee giggled at him, but suddenly froze. A cold shiver went down her spine and she let out a tiny gasp of surprise.

"What's wrong?" Daisuke asked. Evee shook her head.

"I don't really know…something just feels…off…"

"Well done!"

The three of them turned to see Aizen standing in the opening of the cave, clapping slowly and sarcastically.

"Well?" he continued. He just stayed where he was.

"Well what?" Kaien finally asked. Aizen smiled at him.

"My dear boy, isn't it obvious? I've won already. There's no point in any of you running…especially since half of you really can't run," his eyes drifted to Masaki curled up in Daisuke's arm. Daisuke met his gaze with a glare and turned away slightly as if to shield her from any more harm. Kaien's eyebrows angled down over his eyes and he growled at Aizen.

"You bastard! Why can't you just leave us alone? We haven't done anything to you!" he shouted.

"Oh, but I'm having so much fun." His gaze flicked to Masaki again and he grinned. It wasn't his normal, calm grin. He had an evil, twisted smile plastered over the lower half of his face.

"What are you doing?" Daisuke asked frantically, pulling Masaki closer to him. He froze as his arms tightened around her shoulders. Something was very wrong.

"Daisuke?" he heard Kaien's voice from somewhere on his left.

"Sh-she…Kaien…she's not breathing…"

Kaien's eye's widened for the briefest second before he rounded on Aizen, pulling away from Evee. Aizen continued to grin at them.

"What did you do?" Kaien shouted. "Dammit, what'd you do to her?"

"I told you, she'd be the first of the two of you to die. It just took a little longer than I thought."

Aizen looked like he was about to continue but Kaien lunged at him, ignoring the sword suddenly pushed in his direction.

"KAIEN!"

Evee's voice echoed in his ears as Kaien slumped forward, further onto the sword. He'd caught it in time that it just missed his heart and tried to move out of the way. Instead in had gone through his chest, right between his collarbone and just above his heart.

"Your turn," someone whispered in his ear. The sword was jerked roughly out of his chest and he fell forward. Evee called out to him again, but she started to back away as Aizen started toward her.

"…no…"

Kaien dragged himself around, cringing as sand got into the open wound, and started toward Evee. Daisuke and Masaki had disappeared. Aizen was only a few strides from Evee now…why wasn't she running? No, wait, she was running. Straight towards Kaien and almost directly in Aizen's path. She managed to duck under Aizen's sword and felt her sleeve rip a little when Aizen nearly held on to her arm. As soon as she was close enough, she rolled Kaien onto his back and laid his head in her lap. She bent forward, pressing her forehead against his and frantically whispering, "Don't die, don't die, please don't die, Kaien, please don't die!"

"…Evee…"

Aizen had turned back and was now raising his sword behind Evee. She was still whispering, rocking back and forth on her knees slightly.

"Evee!"

"…I love you…"

"Evee! NO!"

Kaien used his good foot to push himself into her with enough force to knock them both out of harm's way when Aizen's sword came bearing down on them. If anything, the man looked mildly annoyed.

"Please hold still."

BREAK

Moru and Koroshi walked side-by-side down the long cave corridor. Moru was almost humming something while Koroshi stared at his feet, hands in his pockets.

"I wonder where those people went," Moru wondered out loud. His brother's eyes snapped to him before returning to the rocky floor.

"We were supposed to bring them to Aizen. We did that, so, I don't know…"

Moru looked up at his brother. "Hey, Koro…if that was all Aizen wanted…what's gonna happen to that girl I was playing with?"

Again, Koroshi gave his brother an odd look, but this time, looked straight ahead. "We both know that's not what you wanted to ask."

"Still though…"

Koroshi sighed. "She's probably dead by now anyway. That's all Aizen wanted them for, so he could kill them in front of some guy. Now what did you really wanna know?"

Moru was quiet for a second (strange for him) before answering. "Koro, what's gonna happen to us? Aizen won't need us anymore, will he?"

The older boy's eyes hardened. "No, he won't. But I'm not gonna let anything happen to you, you hear me?" he said sternly to his brother. Moru smiled and nodded.

"Uh-huh!"

The two of them continued on their way.

BREAK

Daisuke had to stop. He'd flash-stepped away with Masaki and was now somewhere back in the caves. He hoped Kaien and Evee were okay…He shook his head and gently laid Masaki on the stone floor.

"Please wake up," he mumbled. He held a hand hovering over her mouth and nose. Nothing. He put two fingers against her throat, just under the jaw line. Noth—wait! There was a pulse! It was faint, very faint, and fading, but it was still there nonetheless. Daisuke just had to get her breathing again.

"Okay, before you kill me for this later, let me say, it saved your life."

He gently tilted her head back, opened her mouth slightly and pinched her nose.

"Here goes."

He pushed his mouth to her and started to blow air into her lungs. Daisuke went through this a few times and was about to come up again when a fist suddenly connected with the side of his face.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING?" Masaki shouted before cringing and holding her injured shoulder.

"You weren't breathing," Daisuke almost laughed before he nearly tackled her in a hug. "You're alive!"

"Yes, and you're crushing me, are we done pointing out the obvious?" she said, trying to push him off. His kissed the top of her head and held her closer to his chest, swaying back and forth slowly. "Yeah, I'm done."

A/N: Like I said, not my favorite. I wrote it pretty fast. It was kinda cute at the end, but y'know. I'll try and update more regularly (as in, whenever I have a computer) so, worry not.


	22. We'll Join You and Ichigo's Dream

**Am I the only one that finds it funny that I'm listening to a song called 'The Part Where He Kills You' while I'm writing this?**

Ch. 22

Evee snapped back to her senses when Kaien knocked her over and dodged out of the way of Aizen's sword again. Without another word, she dived back into the cave, carrying Kaien with her. The two of them hurried down the tunnel before coming across the opening to another room and taking a sharp right turn into it. Inside they found Daisuke with Masaki pulled over his lap, holding her tightly to his chest.

"D-daisuke?" Evee started hesitantly. "Is…is she…?"

"I'm okay," Masaki's quiet voice floated towards them and they both sighed in relief. Their relief was short-lived, however, when the opening behind them suddenly sealed itself, sending the room into complete darkness.

"Great," Daisuke's voice echoed around them. "What now?"

"Hold on," said Evee's voice from somewhere on his left. The sound of something tearing filled the room and a small, green light appeared briefly before something in Evee's hand caught fire and she piled it gently on the floor. She'd torn off one of her sleeves. Daisuke turned around so he was facing the fire, pulling Masaki along with him. Despite her protests, he wouldn't let her go. In fact when the doorway had sealed, he'd tightened his grip. The four of them sat in silence for a while.

"I wonder how the others are holding up," said Kaien. His voice sounded strange after the quiet.

"I don't know," Evee said. "Aizen seems to have given up on finding us. Maybe he's going after them now."

"Yeah," Kaien replied. "If he was still following us, we'd be splattered up against the wall right now."

Evee blanched at the mental image and stared at the small fire.

"He didn't find you 'cause we didn't want him to."

They all jumped at the voice that came from nowhere and everywhere at once. Koroshi appeared beside the fire, Moru not far behind.

"We were playing with the walls!" the younger boy shouted happily. His expression changed when he saw Masaki. "Whoa, Lady, what happened to you?"

"Kid, you _really_ don't wanna know," she said sarcastically. She turned her attention to Koroshi. "Why didn't you want him to find us?"

"Because when you guys're gone, he won't need us anymore. If possible, Evee turned even whiter when she realized what the boy was saying.

"He-he wouldn't…"

Koroshi looked at her. "You think so?"

"I—well…" she hesitated. "But, you're just little kids, he wouldn't seriously…" She sighed. "Yeah. He would, wouldn't he?"

"Help us then," said Daisuke. "If we take him out, you two won't need to worry! We all leave happy."

"Well," Kaien cut in. "All of us 'cept for Aizen anyway."

Masaki scoffed and they lapsed into silence again.

"Okay."

"Huh?"

"We'll join you guys," Koroshi announced. "We know these tunnels better than anyone. There's no way Aizen'll be able to get to anyone if he can't find the right tunnel."

Daisuke smiled. "Can one of you stop him from getting to our parents? And Mr. Ishida? He was helping us get out and stopped to keep Aizen from finding us."

"That didn't work out very well," said Evee. "You don't think…"

"I'm sure he's fine…but…just in case…"

"I'll try and get him back to the other people," said Koroshi. He turned to his brother. "Stay here, Moru. Don't do anything unless these people tell you too. Okay?"

Moru nodded, saluting his brother. "M'kay Koro."

"I'll be back soon."

Koroshi seemed to disappear through the wall.

"So…" Daisuke started awkwardly. "Now what?"

**BREAK**

_The sun set slowly behind the rain clouds, unnoticed by the citizens of Karakura Town as they hurried from building to building. A nine year old Ichigo Kurosaki walked down the sidewalk, spiky, orange hair poking out from under his hood as he held his mother's hand. A car drove by and soaked Ichigo with the puddle it drove through._

_"Oh, Ichigo," his other started, pulling a handkerchief from her pocket and drying Ichigo's face. He squirmed away, protesting his mother's actions._

_"Mom, stop!"_

_"Maybe I should walk on the outside."_

_"No! I have to walk on the outside so I can protect you from cars like that!"_

_She laughed at her son's stubbornness. "Alright, if you say so."_

_The two of them walked onto a bridge, Ichigo laughing as he kicked up a puddle. Ichigo suddenly stopped and looked up, seeing a girl standing on the railing._

_"What are you doing up there?" he called out. The girl looked at him and smiled before the image morphed. Ichigo was 26 again, and the girl and his mother had disappeared. Instead, Rukia stood beside him, a panicked expression on her face. She appeared to be saying something. Ichigo could see her mouth moving but nothing seemed to be coming out. He turned his attention back to the girl and felt his heart leap into his throat._

_Five year old Kaien and Masaki sat on the bridge's railing, holding hands, and their feet swinging over the edge._

_"Hey!" Ichigo shouted. "Get down now! Both of you!"_

_The twins simultaneously looked up at him before speaking in unison._

_"You couldn't protect us, Daddy. It was your fault."_

_Aizen suddenly materialized behind them and they became teenagers once more._

_Ichigo, now back to 37, took a step forward and Aizen grinned, putting a hand on Masaki's shoulder._

_"No!" Ichigo shouted, thinking Aizen was going to push her over the edge. Instead, Masaki went completely stiff and a white mass started forcing itself out of her mouth, eyes, and nose. He was making her inner hollow come out. The mask formed across her face and she let out a mad laugh. Before Ichigo could do anything, she whirled around on the rail, stabbing her brother through the chest with her bare hand._

_"NO!" Ichigo repeated. He looked around for Rukia, wondering why she hadn't done anything, only to find that she'd disappeared too. Ichigo turned back in time to see Kaien fall limp over the rail, Aizen grinning and Masaki laughing insanely. Masaki looked back up at her father. Her mask disintegrated but her eyes remained black and yellow. Still giggling slightly, she raised her hand, wiggling her fingers at him._

_"Bye-bye, Daddy!" She let herself fall backward and Ichigo dived after her. As soon as he was over the edge everything seemed to happen in slow motion. __First, he realized that there was no Masaki at the bottom. Second, he noticed she wasn't even falling in front of him. He flipped in midair so that his back faced the ground below and saw Masaki hanging like a bat from the railing, grinning at him as though they were having an everyday conversation. She waved at him from__her upside down perch._

_"Bye-bye, Daddy," she repeated. "Tell Mom I said 'hi'!"_

_Ichigo turned his head to look at the ground and felt a jolt at the sight of Rukia's broken body lying next to Kaien's. His eyes widened as the ground rushed up to meet him—_

Ichigo jolted up into a sitting position. A quick look around told him he was sitting on one of the sideways buildings of his inner world. Zangetsu appeared beside him.

"It's been a while, old friend," Zangetsu started. "I thought you had that Hollow of ours under control."

Ichigo let out a humorless laugh. "So did I."

"What do you make of that dream you had?"

Ichigo thought for a second. "I'm STILL not strong enough. I couldn't protect any of them—I can barely protect myself..."

Zangetsu continued to stare up at the clouds.

"It's going to rain..."

The two of them sat in silence as droplets of rain started to fall around them.

**Sorry to end the chapter there, but I'm tired and something's going around that I seem to have caught. I probably shouldn't be typing fanfiction while possibly getting sick…oh well. **


	23. The Power of Suggestion

**Okay, just a quick note to the Violent Spazz: You are no longer allowed to send me videos over Facebook chat. I will ignore them from now on. They're weird and a little scarring. Just sayin'. Anyway, On with the story!**

**I do not own.**

Ch. 23

Orihime could feel beads of sweat running down her face as she continued to heal Rukia. It had been a good half hour now, and nothing was happening. She was getting tired…

_I can't give up! _She thought, gritting her teeth. Ulquiorra blocked another stray kick from Grimmjow and put a hand on Orihime's shoulder.

"Just a little longer," he said. Orihime sighed. That had to be the fourth or fifth time he'd said that. She was starting to wonder if they had been too late when she felt something. It was very faint and almost undetectable, but it was there. Rukia's reiatsu. Ulquiorra had noticed too and his grip on Orihime's shoulder tightened.

"Ichigo!" Orihime called. Ichigo was too busy attacking Grimmjow to noticed Orihime's call. The mask stayed firmly on his face and he let out a distorted yell. A few minutes later though, he stopped in his tracks and his head snapped in their direction. Even with his mask, he could feel it now. Ichigo started pulling at his mask, tearing it off with minor difficulty.

"Rukia!"

He flash-stepped over to them and knelt down next to the orange dome over Rukia. He wanted to reach out and pull her into his arms again, but the Shun-Shun Rikka held him back.

_Just a little longer…_

**BREAK**

The dark tunnel echoed with Koroshi's light footsteps. He remembered the man with glasses being somewhere in this area…he went over the map in his head, letting his feet carry him as he closed his eyes.

Left, left, right, straight, right, left, right, straight, left…stop. Koroshi opened his eyes again and looked down to see the man with glasses, lying at his small feet.

"Hey, Mister!" he said, nudging Uryu's arm with his toe. Uryu flinched with a small groan.

"C'mon Mister!" Koroshi continued. "We have to go before Aizen shows up!"

Uryu turned his head to look up at the little boy.

"Can you stand?" the boy asked.

Uryu just stared at him. He was one of Aizen's arrancars. Why was he helping? He pushed himself up onto one elbow.

"I couldn't move very fast."

"That's okay." Koroshi placed a hand on the wall and it opened to show another tunnel. "If you can get down there, you'll find your friends. And I'm the only one that knows about this tunnel. No one's gonna follow you without me."

Uryu managed to get onto his hands and knees at this point and continued to stare in surprise at the boy.

"Thank you," Uryu said, using the wall to pull his way into the tunnel. As soon as he was through, the wall sealed itself again. Koroshi dropped his hand to his side and turned around to see the four teenagers and his brother standing in the tunnel behind him.

"I thought you were going to stay hidden," he said.

"We did," said Evee, looking down at her feet.

"He found us anyway," Daisuke stated in a monotone, an odd look on his face as he stared at the space over Koroshi's head.

"He almost killed us—," Kaien started.

"—but we made a deal with him," Masaki finished.

"A…deal?" Koroshi took a step back and Moru stepped forward.

"It's us this time, Koro," he said. "Aizen doesn't need us anymore."

A steady stream of blood suddenly started from the corners of Moru's mouth, and again at his hairline.

"Moru!"

Moru stumbled forward and Koroshi supported him.

"Moru! What happened?"

"It's our turn, Koro…it's our turn…our turn…"

Moru's eyes closed and his weight became too much for Koroshi. He laid his brother gently on the ground before looking back up at the four teenagers. One of them, Kaien, had his sword out, blood dripping off the tip and blending with the dirt.

"Koroshi," Evee began, taking a step toward him. Koroshi didn't hesitate. He opened a spot in the wall and disappeared through it, leaving Moru behind.

He didn't see the man step out of the shadows, a calm grin on his face.

He didn't see Aizen putting away his sword and walking back the way Koroshi had come.

The kids were down there somewhere. It wouldn't be long before he'd found them again.

_Just a little bit longer…_

**Eh, eh? You see what I did there? Anyway, sorry for the short chapter, I hit a bit of a block (gi-hugic wall) and this just seemed like a good place to stop so, yeah. Review please!**


	24. Knock, Knock

**So, last week we began rehearsals for My Fair Lady (I'm Freddy's mom and chorus :P) so, updates may be a little slow…anyway, let's see what I have up my sleeve this time 'cause I am LITERALLY making this up as I go along…**

Ch. 24

Moru sat in the silent circle of people around the fire, playing with a frayed string on his pants.

_What's taking Koro so long?_ He wondered. The others were slouching over on each other, as if the full realization of how exhausted they were was finally hitting them. Masaki had practically fallen asleep on Daisuke and Kaien's head was falling onto Evee's shoulder. Evee mumbled something that none of them caught and they lapsed back into silence. The quiet was suddenly broken by four small knocks that seemed to come from everywhere.

_Knock, knock, knock, knock_

Daisuke sat up straighter, Masaki protesting the movement with a groan.

"What was that?" he asked.

"What was what?" Masaki grumbled. It came again.

_Knock, knock, knock, knock_

"Oh," Masaki sat up, sliding off of Daisuke's lap and sitting next to him instead. "That."

Evee's hand shot out and tightened around Kaien's fingers as the knocking came again.

_Knock, knock, knock, knock_

"It's moving," said Kaien, following the sound with his eyes. They all froze, their heads moving with the noise until it came to a stop at a wall behind Kaien and Evee.

"That's where we came in," Masaki whispered, not daring to make any more sound.

"Maybe it's Koro," said Moru. The other four jumped, forgetting the little boy was there.

The wall split open and Koroshi stood in the entrance, just in the light of the fire.

"Koro!" Moru exclaimed happily, running toward his brother with open arms. Koroshi didn't seem to register him, instead pushing past the younger boy and towards the group of teenagers. He had an odd look in his eyes and was muttering something under his breath. As he got closer, it got louder.

"…ill em…kill em…kill them…kill them…Kill Them…Kill. Them….KILL THEM!"

On his last shout, he gave a roar and jumped at Kaien's back, a cero lighting up in his hand. Kaien jumped out of the way, Evee jumping back herself. Koroshi didn't stop, instead aiming his hand at Daisuke and Masaki who were too surprised to react. The cero went off, tingeing the room with a greenish light and Kaien tackled Koroshi, pinning him to the ground.

"What's wrong with you?" he shouted while a single thought ran frantically through his mind: _Oh my god they're dead. Don't let them be dead. They can't be dead. Please don't let them be dead…_

He looked up to see that the cero had broken the wall open, the edges of the hole smoking slightly. And just off to the side were Daisuke and Masaki. Masaki had reacted at the last second, tackling Daisuke out of the way and now she was lying on top of him. The back of her uniform was scorched and had a few holes in it, the obi* completely gone.

"You okay?" she asked quietly. Daisuke stared at her.

"What were you _thinking? _You could've been killed!"

A smiled flickered across her face. "Sorry," she said and with a small laugh of relief her head fell onto his chest. Daisuke let his own head fall back into the dirt, his heart still racing. He caught Kaien's eye and saw the other boy visibly sigh in relief.

Koroshi was struggling under Kaien's grip, trying to get up.

"Let me up! Dammit!" he shouted, kicking at Kaien's stomach. Kaien just pinned the boy's legs with his knee.

"Don't waste your energy kid; I'm twice your size. And watch your mouth! What're you? 9?"

Koroshi tried in vain to head-butt Kaien before finally giving up. After a few seconds, Kaien realized Koroshi was crying quietly.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Kaien asked.

"Y-you hurt him. Bad. Why would you hurt Moru? He didn't do anything!" Koroshi sniffled angrily.

"What are you talking about?" Evee asked. Moru stood beside her, looking just as confused. "Koroshi, he's right here."

"I'm right here, Koro!" Moru echoed.

"He can't see that right now," said a cool voice from the entrance. All of them, excluding Koroshi, froze and slowly turned to see Aizen stepping into the light of the fire. "Now," he drew his sword, the blade gleaming wickedly in the fire, "where were we?"

**Obi- the belt thing on the shihakusho**


	25. Surprise

Chapter 25

They all scrambled to their feet, Kaien holding Koroshi in a head lock.

"There's nowhere left for you to run really," Aizen continued, calmly stepping forward. "You may as well give up. I've won."

Masaki stepped forward unsteadily, drawing her sword. "I don't think so."

"We're just too damn stubborn," said Daisuke, joining her.

Aizen's calm smile never faltered. "That's unfortunate. Now it'll just be all the more painful for y—"

"Spear through 'em, Shinso."

From a spot in the darkness, a blade glinted briefly before piercing Aizen in the shoulder. The blade pushed downward, effectively severing the arm, before it seemed to shrink back and a figure walked into the room, a large grin across his foxlike face.

"Long time, no see, Sosuke. Can't you play nice with the other children for once?"

Daisuke just stared at the figure in disbelief, an odd grin flicking across his face.

"Dad."

**BREAK**

Renji, Chad and Rangiku did their best to keep Grimmjow from the four in the corner.

_Damn, _Renji thought. _I can't go into Bankai. The place'll collapse on us…_

The three of them managed to corner the arrancar when Grimmjow jumped straight upward, breaking a stalactite off of the ceiling and hurling it down at them before landing a few feet away.

"Hey, Kurosaki!" he shouted at Ichigo. "Come back and fight me! I'm not done with you ye—!"

He stopped and grinned when he saw the orange bubble disappear and Rukia start to sit up, holding her chest.

"See? Your wife's fine now. You have nothing else bothering you, so get your ass back over here and—!"

"Bankai."

Everyone in the room froze, heads turning to stare at the small, raven-haired figure on the floor. Rukia slowly got to her feet, continuing the release command.

"Ten to ji o kora*, Sode no Shirayuki."

It started slowly, the reiatsu becoming visible around Rukia and sending waves of ice throughout the room. Soon it grew, ice growing down the sword as the long, white ribbon wrapped around her arm up to the shoulder. The ice morphed the sword, turning into a frozen scythe with two sides and a point on either end. Ichigo couldn't help but scoff lightly.

"That looks familiar," he said quietly. Nobody noticed, too focused on Rukia as she swung the scythe back; her eyes glowed light purple. She fixed her glare on Grimmjow who flexed his fingers, ready for a fight.

"That's new. When did you find that, Little Girl?"

"I had it all along," she said coldly. "I just didn't think you were worth using it on."

The smile slid off of Grimmjow's face and he growled. Rukia swung the scythe forward in a graceful arc, shouting, "Tsugi no mai! Hakuren!"

Following the arc of the blade, a wave of ice hurled itself at Grimmjow, freezing him to the spot when he tried to jump away. The blade followed, cutting into the ice and stopping just centimeters from Grimmjow's nose. She stopped, took a deep breath and pulled the scythe away, leaving Grimmjow frozen. Ichigo thought she was standing down, when she turned and took a few steps away. However that notion soon died when she whirled around, fury evident on her face, and seemed to shout at the ice, "Crush him!"

The block of ice cracked, but seemed to shrink a bit before it imploded, leaving a haze of water in the air.

"When did you learn that?" and exhausted Orihime asked quietly before falling sideways into Ulquiorra's arms, fast asleep.

**Sorry to cut it off…I've been giving a lot of short chapters lately…but worry not! I will give you a longer one soon! Hopefully…anyway, I was trying to make Rukia's Bankai look like the scythe she had in Fade to Black (if you haven't seen it, do. It's full of ichirukiness ;3) and please, PLEASE review. Don't make me stop writing again if I don't get a review! Believe me, they're motivation to write more…so…yeah…**

**Ten to ji o kora: basically freeze the earth and heavens**


	26. The Fight Begins

**So, I'm just gonna say now, there may be a break after the next few chapters because I do have other stories I should probably catch up on as well as one I'm writing for a scholarship (I'm putting it on fictionpress—Neko-chan-the-band-geek…go read it soon…I need feedback) So, fear not, I'm not completely ending the story. Also, I promise that this chapter will be longer than the short crap I've been ashamedly giving you guys. **

**Haven't said this in a while, but I do not own Bleach. Or its characters. **

Ch. 26

Aizen turned his head slowly to look, shocked, at Gin who strode calmly over to his son.

"Sorry I took so long. No one gave me directions. Good to see you're all okay," he looked at them all: bloodied faces with torn clothes as well as Daisuke's broken nose, Kaien's ankle, the marks all over Evee's face and arms and Masaki's useless right arm, hanging limply at her side. "Well, standing anyway."

He turned to face Aizen again, calling over his shoulder, "I'll take care of him. You four go find your parents. Daisuke, tell your mom I made it and I'll see her soon, okay?"

"Got it," said Daisuke with a nod, taking Masaki's hand and leading her from the room. Kaien and Evee followed close behind, Kaien with a heavy limp and Gin turned his attention to the man in front of him.

"Let's finish what we started all those years ago, eh?"

Aizen seemed to be regaining his composure, no longer shocked by the loss of his left arm.

"We already finished it Ichimaru. You just didn't like the outcome."

Gin's smile disappeared. "Everyone gets a second chance at something."

**BREAK**

Ichigo's eyes flicked between the spot where Grimmjow had been just seconds before to Rukia and back again.

"H-how—when?" he stammered out. "When did you learn Bankai?"

Rukia seemed to snap out of a daze, the scythe dissolving from around her sword, she gave him a sad smile. "I started training after you first lost control of your Hollow around the kids. I thought I should get stronger just in case something happened."

"You mean Byakuya decided you weren't a little kid anymore," said Ichigo with a grin. She scoffed.

"For the most part."

Ichigo pulled her into his arms again. "Don't scare me like that again."

"Got it," she mumbled into his chest. There was a noise from somewhere on their right and Uryu stumbled out of an opening in the wall, his white clothes stained red.

"Uryu!"

Ichigo and Rukia both rushed toward him, catching him under the arms when he fell forward.

"What happened?" asked Rukia.

"Where are the kids?" Ichigo asked.

"They're—hiding," Uryu panted. "I l-lost them when I tried to hold—Aizen off."

He cringed and they set him down against the wall. Uryu's eyes drifted around the room before falling on Orihime unconscious in Ulquiorra's arms.

"What—?"

"Don't worry, she's just exhausted," Ichigo waved him down. "She used up her energy with the Shun-shun Rikka."

"Oh."

Ichigo looked up at Rukia.

"Let's go find the kids. They can't have gone too far. We'll just have to—"

At that moment, the four they were going to look for jogged into the room, holding each other for support.

"No—no more running," said Kaien, flopping onto his back with a huff. Masaki had one arm around Daisuke's shoulders and looked up.

"Mom!"

Despite nearly falling on the first step, Masaki raced toward her parents, Kaien jumping to his feet as well as he could and shooting after her. Ichigo and Rukia pulled both their kids close.

"Next time you guys decide you want to run off, let us know okay?" said Ichigo. Daisuke walked gingerly over to Rangiku.

"Dad's here."

"What?"

"He told me to tell you he'd see you soon," said Daisuke with a smile. "It's just Aizen left now!"

Rangiku, however, looked horrified. "He's fighting Aizen _alone?_"

And with that, she ran through the opening, dragging her son behind her.

"Show me where you came from!" she shouted as the two of them dashed down the tunnel. Daisuke led her down the tunnel, retracing his path and hearing the sound of more pairs of feet running behind them. He couldn't help but get the feeling that a big fight was about to start. After what felt like an hour, they were finally back in the room. Aizen's arm had long since disintegrated back into reiatsu and now the two men were at each other's throats, clashing swords before jumping backward.

"Well, isn't this nice," said Aizen. His appearance was starting to match his mental state. The once slicked back hair hung in his face and the purple eyes were wide over an ear-to-ear grin. "You can all die in the same room. You only make things easy for me, you know…" his smile faltered slightly as he studied the group. "Where's Schiffer? And the Quincy?"

"On their way out," said Ichigo with a steely glare. He started to draw his sword. "I'm the only one staying, Aizen."

"What?" most of the group chorused behind him. Rukia held onto his sleeve.

"Ichigo, we're not going to leave you in here."

Ichigo scoffed. "Don't worry. As much as I don't like it, we _do _have Gin on our side—"

"—Good to see you too, Kurosaki," called Gin from across the room.

"Anyway," Ichigo dropped his voice so that only Rukia could hear him. "Look at Aizen. He's slipping. He's strong, but his mind's completely fallen apart. I'll be fine."

"I know you will."

Ichigo smiled. "Thank—"

"—because I'm staying."

The smile vanished. "No."

He saw Chad start to lead the protesting group of teenagers from the room and Rangiku put her hands on her hips, a stubborn expression on her face while Renji let Zabimaru settle against his shoulder.

"We're staying too, Ichigo," said Renji.

"I don't know if you noticed but there were twice as many of us last time and you with your full power and we _still_ didn't kill him," Rukia pointed out. She glared up at him and her violet eyes suddenly grew wide. "Ichigo, MOVE!"

She pushed him out of the way as Aizen appeared out of nowhere, his sword slashing into the dirt instead.

"The fight seems to have started without you, Kurosaki," said Aizen with a small laugh.

**BREAK**

Chad ushered the four of them out of an opening and into the desert, telling them to stay, before going back to get help Ulquiorra get Orihime and Uryu out. Masaki flopped into the sand with a groan and Kaien sat down next to her, his bad ankle held out.

Daisuke made to follow Chad, but Kaien clumsily got up and blocked his path.

"We need to leave. We're not going to be much help in our state. We'll just get in the way," he said.

"What?"

"Well, just look at Masaki! She can barely stand on her feet and she can't move one of her arms! We need to go home."

Daisuke glared at him. As much as he wanted to help, he knew Kaien had a point.

"Fine. But how will Kisuke know to open the—?"

As if on cue, a garganta opened above him.

"Oh."

"Let's get going before it closes again," said Evee, pulling one of Kaien's arms around her shoulders. He hobbled along beside her. Daisuke lifted Masaki off of the ground again and flash-stepped up to the garganta.

"Daisuke put me down…" she mumbled. He grinned down at her.

"In a little bit."

Daisuke followed the other two, stepping into the dark void, and doing his best to focus his reiatsu in front of him. To his surprise, the small squares of light suddenly turned into a long ribbon leading straight ahead.

"Does that help?"

He looked down at the girl in his arms to see her eyes shut and eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

"Yeah, it does. Don't push yourself."

"Mm."

"Hurry up you two!" Kaien shouted behind him.

The trip seemed to go faster than before and Daisuke stepped lightly into the basement of the Urahara Shoten, the garganta closing with a loud snap behind him. Kisuke grinned at them from behind his fan.

"I got your message," he said happily.

Daisuke looked confused. "Message?"

Kisuke raised an eyebrow. "Am I wrong in saying that you bugged our Miss Kurosaki?"

Realization dawned on Daisuke's face. "Oh yeah…I completely forgot about that. I didn't expect it to attach to her Shinigami form too. I just stuck it in the pocket of her school uniform…"

Kaien and Evee had walked a few feet away where they both sat down in the dirt, oblivious to the current conversation.

"Where did you get this device from again?" Kisuke asked.

"From…Captain Kurotsuchi," he said the last bit slowly, feeling stupid. Of course. If Mayuri Kurotsuchi made it, nobody really knew what it did except him. Daisuke was brought out of his thoughts by a fist connecting squarely with his chin.

Kaien and Evee looked up from their spot when they heard Masaki shout, "YOU BUGGED ME?" before she cringed, holding her chest.

Masaki lowered her voice, "Why?"

"Because my parents were given orders to have someone watch you, so they picked me," said Daisuke, rubbing his jaw. He felt her reiatsu flare in anger and hastily added, "It was just because you were Ichigo Kurosaki's daughter and when you got your Hollow, Soul Society wanted to make sure you didn't get too strong…y'know in case the Hollow fully took over of something…"

She didn't say anything for a minute before, "Put me down, Daisuke."

He did as he was told and she used a nearby rock to hold herself up, sending a glare in his direction.

"So were you really our friend that whole time? Or was that just a face for your little 'mission'?"

Daisuke's shoulders slumped as Evee stood up cautiously behind them.

"Masaki, you know I was your—"

"And to think I was actually starting to—" She cut herself off, stole a bemused Kisuke's cane and left the basement behind. Kisuke watched her go, a disheartened expression on his face as he lowered his fan.

"She took Benihime…" he muttered. Kaien and Evee stared after Masaki before their gazes turned to Daisuke.

"What just happened?" Evee asked.

Daisuke ignored her, breaking into a run and shouting, "Masaki, wait!"

He caught up with her just as she made it out the doors.

"Masaki, I—"

"Go away, Ichimaru," she snapped over her shoulder, leaning heavily on the cane. She flicked something small and round in his direction. "And take your bug with you."

She started out the door again and Daisuke went after her. They were only a few feet from the door when she turned and leaned against the wall across the street and aimed the cane at him.

"Stop following me," she said sternly, starting to walk away again. Rain started to pour around them, shining in the dim streetlight, as Daisuke reached forward and grabbed her arm, whirling her around to face him.

"I'll stop following you if you just listen to me."

Masaki didn't say anything, but raised an eyebrow which he took to mean 'go ahead'.

"It started out just being the guy that kept an eye on you, but after a while, I really started to like you. I think it's pretty obvious I'd give up my life to save yours and I know you'd do the same…hell, you almost did…" he let out an irritated sigh and set his forehead against hers, whispering, "Please believe me…"

Again, she didn't respond right away.

"Daisuke, there are so many things I'd like to say to you right now, but I don't know how…"

He wrapped his arms around her, setting his chin on her head. "You don't have to."

Daisuke felt something wet on his hands and noticed that the wound on her back had reopened.

"…let's just go home," she said after a pause.

**See? As promised, a long chapter. The scene with Daisuke and Masaki I actually wrote during my vacation…while taking shelter from pouring rain, all alone in my two person tent…Oh well, it worked out. And I liked the rain…at least when I wasn't freezing in an air conditioned building because of it…**

**Anyway, please review! **


	27. We've Almost Won

**Hey there! Thanks to the people that reviewed and whatnot. It's appreciated. And also, to The Violent Spazz, you freaked out a couple of reviews ago because Masaki was on top of Daisuke, and yet you didn't say a word when he was on top of her in chapter 18…just thought I'd let you know. By the way, how's that orange coming?**

**Don't own bleach. **

Ch. 27

Daisuke and Masaki changed their route, heading instead to the Kurosaki Family Clinic which was closer. Kaien and Evee had followed, arriving a few minutes later.

"What has my idiot son gotten you kids into?" Ishiin shouted dramatically while fussing around all of them. "It's lucky I didn't listen to him and retire!"

Yuzu, who had been visiting with her own family, was helping to wrap Kaien's ankle in a splint.

"Do I even need to bother asking what happened?" she asked with a sigh. Kaien gave her a sheepish smile. "I thought so. Just like Nii-san…"

Finally all four of them were bandaged and sitting in various places around the room. Ishiin had run up the stairs a few minutes ago and now reappeared with his arms full of different pillows and blankets.

"You four can camp out down here," he said, once he'd reached the bottom. "Just until your parents can get back."

The four of them looked at him, their expressions verging on unreadable.

"They _will _get back," he said confidently. Yuzu mumbled something about going upstairs and disappeared. Ishiin followed after with another firm glance at the teenagers.

An hour later had the four of them sleeping in the living room, sprawled out in various places. Kaien was snoring loudly from the floor, drooling slightly, Evee had her head lying on the arm of the chair, Daisuke sat on one end of the couch, his head leaning on his hand and Masaki had the other side, curled up under a blanket. Daisuke was still awake, staring off into the dark in front of him. Masaki hadn't said a word to him since suggesting that they come here instead of to one of their houses.

"You still awake?" he asked no one in particular, hoping Masaki would at least move.

He waited.

Nothing.

Daisuke sighed, rubbing his tired eyes. He'd screwed up.

Masaki kept her eyes fixed in front of her, strategically hiding her face in the blanket. She _was_ still awake, but she didn't want to say anything to him. A long silence ensued and for a second, she thought he'd finally gone to sleep.

"I'm sorry."

Daisuke's voice surprised her a little, sounding foreign in the quiet.

"I'm sorry," he went on. "I shouldn't have bugged you. Or at least, I should've found a way to tell you about it before it got so far. Like I said before, you know this isn't just a mission for me anymore. You have no idea how scared I was when you stabbed yourself with my sword, or when Grimmjow had you. And not just because it would mean that Aizen was winning…it's because…" he trailed off with another sigh. Masaki closed her eyes and sighed herself before pulling the blanket down slightly so that her eyes were showing. Daisuke looked up at the movement.

"Because?" she pressed.

"I…I um…forget it…"

Masaki sat up, wrapping the blanket around her shoulders and fixing him with a glare.

"Tell me."

"What?" Daisuke seemed a little taken aback. He'd been talking in full confidence that she was asleep.

"Tell—"

She was cut off as Daisuke moved in quickly, close enough that their foreheads were touching. He angled his face slightly so that his lips lightly brushed against hers and she flinched backward, wide-eyed and face burning.

"You wanted me to tell you. I figured it'd just be easier to show you instead," he said before moving forward again. She stayed where she was, unsure what to do. Her fight or flight instinct was going crazy. Daisuke's mouth was warm and surprisingly soft against her own. Masaki seemed to be having an internal argument.

_No! I'm still mad at him! Push him away!_

_No you're not! You forgave him an hour ago! Kiss him back!_

Daisuke pulled away, giving her the most light-hearted expression she'd ever seen on him.

"Well?"

"Uh…"

At a loss for words, Masaki instead pulled the blanket over her head like a hood and returned to her corner of the couch. Daisuke blinked in surprise.

"Masaki?"

"I-I'm sorry, Daisuke. I can't—I swear, if you tell anyone that just happened, I'll—"

Neither of them noticed that Kaien had stopped snoring and was watching them through one eye, a smug grin on his face, before he rolled over and went back to sleep.

**BREAK**

Ichigo was flying. His feet had been on the ground seconds before, but something had come straight at him (he assumed it was Aizen) and now he was airborne. He hit the wall of the cave, sending a few stones tumbling down before he landed roughly in a heap on the floor. Someone shouted his name, but he ignored them. Ichigo was mentally kicking himself for not seeing the attack sooner. His unfocused eyes traveled up to see Rukia kneeling above him before nothing.

Just like that, he was out of the fight.

Rukia pulled his head into her lap, calling his name.

"Ichigo?"

He was still breathing steadily. It looked like he'd merely taken too large of a blow to the head. She breathed a hollow laugh.

"Out of everything, _this _is what takes you down?"

"Rukia!"

She looked up at the sound of Renji's voice.

"He'll be fine! We need your help over here!"

After one last glance at Ichigo's sleeping form, she stood back up, summoned her Bankai and rejoined the fight.

Aizen continued to laugh like a madman as he blocked blow after blow, jab after jab; every move they made was deflected as easily as if he were fighting a child.

Finally the four of them had him cornered and he started to show the first, faint flicker of fear. His eyes scanned them, evaluating which would be the easiest to take down, the easiest way out. Aizen raised his sword and the other four tensed, readying for the attack.

He stared Rukia down, seeming ready to go through her, but suddenly changed his direction and jumped at Rangiku instead. Gin stopped him and pushed him back into the corner. They moved in even closer.

Aizen's next move surprised them all: he sheathed his sword and stood back.

"I can see when I've lost. I'm not stupid," he said, raising his hands in surrender. "I can no longer fight you by myself."

Aizen raised his voice. "Koroshi!"

The little boy appeared through the ceiling, hanging onto the edge of the hole he'd made. Aizen smiled up at him.

"You know what to do."

Koroshi nodded and disappeared through the hole again. Seconds later, the entire room began to shake, rocks falling and stalactites threatening to impale anyone who stood beneath them.

**Yeah, kind of a sucky place to stop, but I figured I owed you guys. I mean, if you've stuck with the story this long, you must think it's good. I really do appreciate reviews. It lets me know people are reading my story. **


	28. End of the arc

**Okay guys, don't freak out, but I'm going to call it good FOR NOW in this chapter. Mainly because I have other fanfics I need to get back to…yeah…anyway, like I said, it's only FOR NOW. I will continue after this, but this story will be officially/unofficially on hiatus. I'm basically going to do what the actual Bleach series does with the different story arcs. So really, it's not the end of the story, just this arc. **

**I also just wanna say, thank you so much to the people who have stuck through the story and consistently reviewed. It really is appreciated and you have no idea how happy it makes me to get a review. I'll name drop you guys in the note at the end. Just for you guys, this will be an extra-long chapter. **

**Oh, and just out of curiosity, if/when you review this chapter, if you've really stuck through it, tell me what your favorite chapter was in the story so far and why. **

**Please and thank you**

**I don't own bleach. **

**So here it is, **

Chapter 28

Renji could feel something heavy on top of him. He didn't care too much seeing as everything seemed to be pitch black and his head was pounding.

"Ugh…did I go drinking again?" he muttered.

The sound of somebody's feet shuffling toward him echoed in his ears. Soon the dark turned into light as someone lifted a large chunk of the stone ceiling off of him.

"Renji!"

Chad was standing over him, a semi-conscious Uryu on his back.

"W-what happened?" Renji asked, massaging his throbbing head with one hand. Some of his hair had come loose from the tie.

"Aizen dropped the ceiling on you," was Chad's only response. Uryu sort of grunted which Renji took to mean a confirmation.

"He dropped the—wait—!" Renji jumped unsteadily to his feet and looked around the now open room. Sand was pouring in from the hole where the ceiling used to be. "Rukia! Ichigo!"

He began to dig around in the rubble and noticed something red drip onto the rock by his hand.

"What the—?"

Blood was streaming from his forehead. He must've taken a pretty heavy blow…

"Maybe you should sit down," Chad said quietly, putting a hand on Renji's shoulder. Renji just looked up at the unnaturally blue sky above him.

"What happened to Orihime and Ulquiorra?"

"They got out. Kisuke left a garganta open for them—"

"What?" Renji shouted. "That idiot! A bunch of hollows could've gotten through!"

"Relax," Chad said, both hands moving to hold Renji still. "He's guarding it. Nothing's getting through that he doesn't want."

Renji took a deep breath. "Right…right…"

A hand suddenly shot out of the rubble a few feet away and Rukia burst through, breathing heavily before turning around and digging further down. Seconds later, she dragged Ichigo above the rocks. He was slowly coming to as Gin and Rangiku dug their way out, across the cave room from each other.

"Where's Aizen?" Ichigo asked stupidly, still dazed.

"I don't know," Renji replied.

"KORO WAKE UP!"

At the cry from the small boy, all of them turned to see Moru trying to pull his brother from the debris. Tears were beginning to fall down his small face. The other boy's face was half visible under what was left of the skull mask. He was stuck underneath a rock that was almost bigger than him. Blood poured from his mouth and covered the front of his shirt. Koroshi didn't respond to his brother.

"Koro, come on…we gotta get out of here…Koro you promised we'd get out!"

Moru was freely sobbing now. Rangiku hesitantly moved forward and gently placed her hand on his back. Koroshi stirred and looked up at his brother with unfocused eyes before standing up. He stumbled over to Moru and wiped his brother's eyes with his grimy sleeve.

"We're gonna go," he said with a determined look, "right now."

The two of them started toward the exit when Koroshi stopped and looked down at his hand. It was beginning to deteriorate, turning back into the reishi that made up the world around them. Moru turned to see why his brother had stopped.

"K-koro?"

"I guess I can't go with you, Moru…"

Koroshi's left arm was gone now, his shoulder and part of his chest following close behind.

"Koro?" Moru repeated, sounding like the little, lost child he was.

"Get Aizen for me, 'kay Moru?"

"Koroshi! Don't go!" Moru dived forward as his brother completely disappeared. He stood there for a minute or two in disbelief before finally he sniffed, wiping his nose on his own tattered sleeve while he nodded.

"M'kay. I will," he grumbled sadly.

Moru was silent for a few seconds before he looked over at Rangiku.

"Can I use your sword?" he asked. She looked down at him, a kind expression on her face.

"That depends why."

"I wanna get Aizen."

Without another word he looked up at her, red eyes blazing with a new anger they hadn't seen from him before.

**BREAK**

Kaien felt an odd shiver go down his spine from his place on the floor. It was early in the morning and none of them had been able to sleep more than a few hours. Ishiin had taken his car and gotten their bodies, bringing them to their owners. Now Kaien was flipping channels on the TV stopping occasionally when something looked interesting. Somehow they ended up on an American game show called Wheel of Fortune.

"C," Masaki called out a random letter, her voice muffled by the hand she was leaning on. The phrase didn't contain a 'c'. She shrugged and readjusted her right arm in its sling. Evee was curled up in the chair, her knees pulled up to her chest.

"You think they're okay?" she said. The other three looked at her but didn't answer.

"It's lucky _we_ made it out…" was all Daisuke could say.

"Mm," Evee sort of grunted, pulling her cellphone out and checking it. Her breath caught and her eyes widened as the screen lit up. "Guys!"

She unfolded her legs, sitting normally in the chair, and the others gathered around her, trying to see the phone. The contact name was under 'dad' and it was a short message with a few misspelled words.

'Eve e, we'rd on ou way. Stay ther.'

"Your dad can't spell," Kaien mumbled. Evee just smiled, feeling relieved that her parents were coming.

"No, he can't _text. _There's a difference."

Masaki took one look at how close she was leaning to Daisuke and immediately moved back to the couch, avoiding his gaze. Kaien and Evee either didn't notice or didn't mention her odd behavior.

"Can you ask him who else is with him?" Masaki asked. Evee quickly texted her father back. They sat a few minutes in complete silence waiting for the little buzz from the phone. As soon as the message came Evee's face fell slightly.

"It's…just my mom with him…sorry…"

Masaki sort of curled into a ball on the couch, her chin resting on her knees.

"S'okay…It's not your fault."

Daisuke made to sit next to her and she gave him an almost imperceptible glare. He rerouted his course to sit on the arm of the couch instead.

"Are you two okay?" Evee asked. "I mean, I know Masaki stormed out of Urahara's place, but…"

"Just fine," said Masaki tensely. "Why do you ask?"

"Because you're doing whatever you can to avoid Daisuke without actually leaving the room," Kaien said, glancing between the two of them.

"No I'm not."

Daisuke moved beside her and kissed her on the temple. "Yes you are."

Masaki turned varying shades of red and scooted away from him.

"See?" Daisuke grinned.

"Shut up."

"What's wrong?"

"_What's wrong?_ Daisuke, you bugged me! For months! You've been spying on me—!"

"No I haven't! The bug relayed everything back to Captain Kurotsuchi—"

"That's even worse! I don't even wanna know what he was doing with that information…"

"Wait, you had her bugged?" Kaien asked, standing a little taller. "Why?"

Daisuke sighed. He'd hoped he wouldn't have to explain this again.

"I was sent here by Soul Society to keep an eye on Masaki and keep her hollow under control."

Kaien took a deep breath, placing his chin in his hand and fixing Daisuke in his gaze. He stood like that for a little bit before—

"Okay."

"_What_?" Masaki almost shouted. Ishiin snorted loudly in his sleep but Masaki didn't notice. She'd jumped to her feet, staring her brother down. "How are you okay with this? You know he was technically spying on you too!"

"Well, I get where he was coming from. Your hollow is dangerous and should be monitored. Besides, it's not like he wanted to do it, he was just doing his j—."

Masaki jumped at him with a shout and Evee pulled him out of the way just as Masaki's fist flew past his head, connecting with nothing but air instead and Daisuke grabbed her from behind and pulled her away from her brother.

"Hey! Calm down! We just got away from Aizen! We don't need to fight each other!" said Daisuke, surprised at how much trouble he had to hold Masaki back. Finally she stopped and stood still.

"Fine. Fine. I get it."

She pulled free of Daisuke and sat back on the couch. She had no sooner done so than they heard a knock on the door.

After exchanging a look with Evee, Kaien answered it. He opened it and immediately limped a few steps backward. Captain Soi Fon walked in flanked by her lieutenant who barely fit through the door. Her eyes fell on Kaien and she frowned.

"Where's your father?"

**BREAK**

After sending Chad back through the garganta with Uryu, the rest of the adults plus Moru began to search through the wreck for Aizen.

"I often find that when I'm looking for something, it appears in the last place I look."

They all whirled around at the voice to see Aizen standing calmly on the other side of the room. He smiled and jumped up to the edge of the hole, leaving them behind. The rest followed after him and were ready to chase him down, but he was waiting for them, hands folded behind his back.

"I'm ready. You can kill me now; I know when I've lost."

The six of them raised their swords (well, all but Moru who raised his claws ahead of him) and dashed forward, stabbing through Aizen's chest from all different angles. Blood burst from his mouth but it was nothing to what stained the front of his white uniform red. They all backed off as he fell to his knees, a triumphant grin on his face.

"Why are you smiling?" Ichigo shouted, suspicious of what was going on.

"I think it's finally time I told you what was going on. You see, I was never here." He swiped a hand at Moru, who was closest and it went right through the little boy's head as if his hand was nothing. "It was all an illusion. I'm still in the prison in Soul Society. Well, I shouldn't say _all _an illusion. I did hollow-fy your daughter, Kurosaki. It's a shame about her though. I thought that, being your daughter, she'd put up more of a fight but I had no trouble taking her down. In fact, I had to hold back to avoid killing her right awa—"

"ENOUGH." Ichigo was gripping Zangetsu's hilt so tightly his knuckles had turned white. "You had someone else take your image so that they'd do all the dirty work for you."

Aizen—or the Aizen-imposter to be more precise—nodded.

"That's right. One of my guards had heard of me. He was tired of his position. He wanted more power. So I offered it to him. Really, this is only his body. He had my zanpaku-to so that he could fool everyone into thinking he was me. I didn't tell him about the other little…_power_ the Hogyoku had given me. As soon as he took my form, I took his mind. You are talking to me right now, but in a way, you aren't."

Rangiku looked horrified as realization dawned across her face.

"So, that means we just killed—"

"—an innocent guard who was conned into more power? Yes. Oh, and one more thing: I left you a small present in Soul Society, Kurosaki. Just in case."

Aizen's face began to disappear from the man in front of them, revealing black hair in the style of a buzz cut and dull, lifeless, brown eyes. The prison guard let out one last breath and fell face-first into the sand. All of them just stared, still trying to process what they'd been told. Moru was the first to react. He threw his head back, sending a frustrated, depressing cry into the air.

"WE DIDN'T GET AIZEN!" he shouted, tears flowing freely down his face. "I PROMISED KORO! HE CAN'T BE IN PRISON!"

Rangiku shook her head and looked down at the boy. He looked right back at her, his determined gaze finding all of them in turn.

"I'm coming with you guys! I have to get Aizen for Koro! I _have to!_"

The five adults shared a look and Gin shook his head slightly at Rangiku. She raised an eyebrow at him and kneeled down next to Moru, using her pink scarf to wipe his eyes.

"You can stay with us until we get him, okay?"

Moru immediately broke into an excited, open-mouthed grin that showed his missing front teeth.

"Really? You mean it lady?"

Rangiku smiled at him, tilting her head to the side. "Mm-hmm!"

Moru danced around, throwing his fists into the air.

"Yeah! I'm gonna get Aizen! I'm gonna get Aizen!" he chanted.

Finally, after casting one last glance at the man who'd been pretending to be Aizen, the six of them walked into the garganta which closed behind them.

**BREAK**

"Why do you need our dad?" Masaki asked, moving to stand next to her brother. "He hasn't done anything…"

Soi Fon soon had Masaki fixed under her glare instead. The girl seemed to shrink in on herself a little, but otherwise stood her ground.

"Your father is—"

She was cut off by a loud crash from upstairs followed by Ishiin shouting down to them, "Who's there? I WARN YOU I'M ARMED!"

If anything, Soi Fon looked a little annoyed. That also may have been due to the fact that her lieutenant had made his way to the kitchen and was now sifting through the cabinets. Ishiin came running awkwardly down the steps, brandishing a broom in the air.

"Whoever you are, get ou—oh. Captain Soi Fon," he smiled and lowered the broom. "Long time, no see! How have you been?"

She sort of glared at him. "I need to speak to your son, Kurosaki."

The smile slid off of Ishiin's face and without turning to them, he waved the kids away.

"Go on upstairs, kids. The adults need to have a talk."

"But—" Masaki piped up.

"I said go!"

The four of them nodded hastily and went upstairs. On the way, Masaki looked over to the large man in their kitchen and paused.

"Hey, Mister, you know it's rude to just take people's food right?" she said. Omaeda paused in the act of tipping a bag of chips into his mouth and looked back at her.

"Yeah, well, I'm rich, so you should be giving me stuff on request!"

Masaki walked up to him and snatched the bag out of his hand while it was in her reach.

"Besides," he sneered, "I'm easily four times your size, so you better watch what you say, ya little brat!"

On the word 'brat' he jabbed a fat finger into her injured shoulder and she kicked herself internally for letting out a small cry of pain.

"Omaeda!" Soi Fon called out to him as Ishiin began to advance. Omaeda immediately straightened up and saluted.

"Y-yes, Captain?"

"Leave her alone. She's right, you _are_ being rude. Now get out of the kitchen!"

"Yes, Captain!"

On his way out of the kitchen, he did his best to make sure he was squishing Masaki into the wall before he left. His large hand crashed into her side and she was thrown to the ground.

"That's it!" she snarled, scrambling back to her feet. Masaki ran out of the kitchen and jumped at Omaeda's giant back. Someone caught her around the middle while she was in the air and the next thing she knew, Daisuke had her over his shoulder, carrying her up the stairs. Omaeda made a face at her and she shouted a few choice words back at him that Kaien, who was walking behind Daisuke, tried to muffle while Evee apologized for Masaki.

"You arrogant piece of—mmf!"

"—I'm so sorry! She's not usually like this—!"

"Mmph ma—should go die in a—mmm!"

"—we're all just a little fried right now!"

"You're just a –mmf-mahf—ing JERK!"

By the time she'd wormed herself free, they were in Ichigo's old bedroom (converted into a guest room a year after he left) and had slammed the door behind them.

"What were you thinking?" Daisuke shouted, making her sit on the bed. Masaki huffed and flopped backward, her legs dangling over the edge of the bed.

"I wasn't."

Evee didn't say anything, her attention fixed on the calendar by the desk lamp.

"Huh."

"What?"

"What was the date when we went to Hueco Mundo?"

"November 26 I think," said Kaien. "Why?"

She held up the small calendar.

"Merry Christmas," she said with a smile. Evee set the calendar back on the desk. "We were gone for almost a month…I wonder what people at school thought…"

"They probably think we just went on an early vacation or something," said Kaien.

"Yeah, that's what we'll tell them," Masaki started sarcastically. "'Hey guys! We're back from our vacation! What's that? What happened to my arm? Well, you see, I have a very good explanation for why I can't move it. Some guy just tried to rip it off while we were cave exploring!'."

Kaien glared at his sister. "Well, I don't see _you_ coming up with any ideas!"

Masaki sat up and glared back. "If I did, they'd be better than going on a vacation a month before break!"

He stepped closer. "I'd like to see that. You're just all talk, you know that?"

She stood up and moved closer to him so that they were centimeters from each other's faces. "You wanna prove that? I could kick your sorry ass any day!"

Kaien pulled back his fist. "_Bring it on!"_

Kaien let his fist fly but Masaki was faster and head-butted him in the chest. He stumbled backward, just avoiding the punch she sent his way.

"C'mon, Kaien, you can do better than that," she smirked. "I'm using my left hand!"

Kaien growled and lunged at her again only to be held back by Evee. Masaki just flopped back on the bed with a sigh.

"Sorry. Sorry," she said, waving a hand dismissively. "I'm just tired and…and pissed…I shouldn't be taking it out on you, you didn't do anything."

Daisuke sat down next to her. "Maybe it'd be better if you told us why you were pissed?"

"I'm—I'm pissed because I was taken down so easily. I'm pissed because I wasn't strong enough to defend myself and that you had to protect me."

"Masaki, listen to me. You're not weak. Aizen and Grimmjow were too strong. Hey, you know what?" Daisuke stood up again. "You can take it out on me instead. Hit me!"

Masaki looked a little surprised. "Y-you're sure?"

"Yeah! Hard as you can. Hit me!"

"O—okay…ready?"

He nodded and she pulled back her fist, punching him in the gut. He doubled over wheezing as she looked at her fist.

"Feel—better?" he wheezed, sinking to his knees. She flexed her fingers, her fist clenching and unclenching again.

"Yeah, actually I do. Thanks."

"No problem…Oh, I should've thought that through…"

**BREAK**

"What do you mean he lied about Aizen?"

Ishiin sat on the couch next to Omaeda while Soi Fon had chosen to remain standing.

"I mean, when _someone_ looked he said no one was there," she glared at her lieutenant who blanched.

"He was scary, okay? I figured if he escaped me might be looking for somethin' down there…"

Soi Fon just sighed irately and went on. "I went and looked myself and discovered he was still there. His guard, however, wasn't. He refused to tell us where the guard went. All I know is that there's no way Aizen could have done all the things that were reported and get back into his cell undetected, guard or not."

Ishiin could feel rage starting to build up inside him. "My daughter-in-law was kidnapped, my granddaughter hollowfied, and right now my son is in Hueco Mundo, and you're telling me that none of that happened?"

"I'm not saying that didn't happen, I'm saying that there's no way Aizen could have done it." She paused, hesitating before she continued. "Have you noticed anything _strange_ about your son lately? Anything that we should be worried about?"

"Ichigo hasn't had problems with is hollow for the past 20 years if that's what you mean."

"You're sure?"

"Positive."

**BREAK**

Neliel wasn't sure how it had happened, but she found herself breaking into the barracks of the head-captain. The teenage arrancar next to her grinned before transforming from a girl into Ichigo Kurosaki. She drew his sword and smiled his smile…it was creepy…Nel looked away, keeping her eyes ahead of her.

"You ready?" the other arrancar asked in Ichigo's voice. Nel nodded, realizing she didn't even know the other's name. The two of them made their way into the main chamber where Yamamoto was meditating. The arrancar posing as Ichigo walked in first, a wide grin spread across its face.

"Hey, Old Man!" it shouted. Yamamoto looked up to see Ichigo Kurosaki pointing his sword at the old captain.

"Kurosaki! How did you get in here?"

"Let's fight, Old Man."

Yamamoto didn't respond at first.

"Why do you wish to fight me, boy?"

"Because I want this to look like an accident," it said.

"What?"

A sword gleamed in the light of the setting sun as Nel slashed through the Head-captain. The cut ran diagonally from his right shoulder to his left hip. Blood spatter covered the floor around them, some on the wall. Both pieces of the old captain fell sideways onto the wooden floor and Nel sheathed her sword.

"Well that was easier than expected," the other arrancar said, turning back into her normal form. "I'd heard things about this guy…guess none of it was true."

"He's gotten old. It was only a matter of time," said Nel, her voice a monotone.

"Ha! Let's see Kurosaki deal with that! All of Soul Society's gonna want his head now!" the girl laughed. Nel took one last look at the fallen captain before flashing away, the girl right at her heels.

**BREAK**

Soi Fon suddenly noticed that something felt off.

"What is it, Captain?" Omaeda asked. In all honesty, he didn't care. He just wanted to get out.

"Something's wrong…Omaeda, stay here and keep an eye on them. I'll be right back!"

Omaeda saluted his captain again but slouched as soon as she was out the door.

"Damn…babysitting…"

"Hey!" Ishiin shouted indignantly. "What do you call me?"

Omaeda looked at him and said quite bluntly, "a man-child, so I'm still babysitting."

"Why you!"

At this time, Yuzu's little boy, Ichirou, stood at the top of the stairs, rubbing his eyes. He just stared at his grandfather attempting to beat up a man who was quite a bit larger than him. After a few minutes Ichirou's father, Hachiro came out of the room they were sleeping in to see his son sitting at the top of the steps and smiling from ear to ear.

"What are you doing out here, Ichirou?" Hachiro asked quietly. His son just pointed down the stairs.

"Why is Grandpa trying to beat that guy up?" he asked innocently. Hachiro's eyebrows furrowed together and he looked to where his son was pointing and only saw Ishiin attacking the air. Hachiro shook his head and picked Ichirou up off the ground.

"I don't know, buddy. Let's go back to bed, huh?"

Ichirou, suddenly sleepy, set his chin on his father's shoulder. "M'kay Daddy."

Meanwhile the kids had finally fallen asleep again in the guest room. Masaki had curled up at the foot of the bed like a dog while Kaien was at the other end, his feet settled on his sister's arm. Daisuke has reassumed his spot on the rug from earlier and Evee's head lay on her folded arms on the desk.

The four of them slept soundly, unaware of the tragedy that had just occurred in Soul Society as the morning of December 24th reared its snowy head.

**READ ME:**

**Hey, the head captain died in the manga…I think. Anyway, he was cut in half in the same sort of fashion so yeah. Besides, I have a plan for this. **

**There will be a preview of the next arc at the very bottom of this note.**

**Also, I'm writing a Harry Potter crossover with bleach using these characters. It'll be sort of a filler arc. Let me know if I should actually put this in here, or if I should put it separately. I was thinking separately but I started leaning towards putting it in this story just for fun…then again, if I make it separately, I can do more with it…hmm…well, let me know what you think. If it's separate, please go check it out! **

**Well, I said I would name drop so here I go:**

**I would like to thank—**

**Shin Ichimaru—you kept bugging me about Gin and trying to have me put him in there. I did so eventually. You were my first reviewer, and I really want to thank you because without you, the story would still be called Purple Aizen Likes Gummy Bears and I probably wouldn't have as many readers. **

**CelestialxXxAngel—while prompting me to update during the time that I was threatening you guys to review, your reviews made me smile****. I'm glad I've gotten you hooked enough to try and find a loophole in my rules. **

**Confetti108—I didn't actually start seeing your reviews until about eight chapters in, but you've stayed consistent from then on and I thank you. I'm glad that I could make you frustrated enough with my cliff hangers that you'd keep reading…and to threaten to kidnap me from my vacation so I could write the next chapter. That review really made me laugh. **

**Cori Shadowfang—again, you were one of the readers that didn't actually start reviewing until later, but if you're still reading, I want to thank you for the feedback. It makes a difference. **

**FSRally—as far as I could tell, you only reviewed once, but it was still appreciated. I'm glad you gave my story a chance. **

**DORITOxBLEACH97—your name amuses me just in the fact that there would be 96 other DORITOxBLEACH's out there…anyway, I think you reviewed a few times and I'm glad that my story was one of your favorites. **

**Animaddie—I thought it would amuse you to know that my first name is Maddie. I also wanted to thank you because if you hadn't reviewed with your comment, Rukia's Bankai probably wouldn't have even been mentioned. **

**Adam k—you were another one of those that only reviewed once I think. Even so, your review made my day. I'm glad that you think I should sell my story to Kubo, but honestly, I think he'd probably reject it considering I bring back a lot of the characters he already killed off :/ But thank you anyway! The fact that you think my story is that good really means a lot.**

**Moongothcat—I appreciate that you like this enough to want to be DA buddies. **

**Adamk15—if you are the same person as Adam k and just didn't want to log in earlier, see the above instance of your mentioning. **

**Phantom reader—I apologize for killing you with the tension of the cliff hanger. It's how I keep you people reading after all **

**DRAGON—honestly, the only reason they were watching Inuyasha is simply because I could think of no other anime movie I knew well that wouldn't break the fourth wall. **

**Abby-Rosette—I read your story a while ago and honestly, it was my inspiration to try and write a fanfiction that didn't cop out about halfway through. So let me just say that I was ecstatic to see that you liked my story. You were sort of my fanfic role model for a little bit **

**Shadowblade2000—you didn't review until chapter 25, but that shows that you read at least up until that point, so thank you. **

**Cecilia Haunt—you started reviewing about chapter 5, and I'm glad you think I'm amazing **

**Tsweet24—like Shadowblade2000, you didn't start reviewing 'til WAAAAAY late in the story, but it just showed that you read that far. So thank you.**

**Luce-camren—I noticed in your review that you were a renruki fan, but I thank you for not trolling and saying that Masaki and Kaien were stupid or that the pairings really were. I'm glad you could see past it enough to actually read the story.**

**And finally,**

**The Violent Spazz—You, Madame, were my partner in crime. All our inside jokes and such came mostly from the other bleach fanfic, but there were still plenty from this one. For example the weird looks everyone gave us when I walked into band and you yelled that I killed Masaki. And you helped me come up with Daisuke, the character that everyone seems to have fallen in love with at first sight. You came up with him and I brought him to life. Even if you didn't feel like logging in, you still never failed to review. You helped me whenever I hit a block/wall and I don't think I would be able to write fluff if you hadn't shown me how…although, I don't know how that ended up with you writing an orange, but it did. Even though you were my friend and practically co-author, it was still nice to know I at least had one reader that stayed with the story. **** Thank you.**

**Since she was so awesome and you'll have to wait on this story now—if you aren't already, go read her story! It's called West Side Story from Hell. Same pairings that I had and it's bleach (if that wasn't already assumed). It's awesome, and I think she's a better writer than I am…even if she does need a lot of editing help. **

**Thank you again, so much, even to the random Guest people. You guys are the reason this story is still going. **

**-StrawberryChappyForever **

**Also, you can look forward to seeing two new characters in the next bit:**

**Koichi Urahara, son of Kisuke and Yoruichi…I just realized that if you mash their names together, it sort of comes out Koichi…that wasn't on purpose…anyway, he's been training at the Soul Reaper academy and gets assigned to Karakura Town along with fellow graduate, Ayako Hitsugaya, daughter of Toshiro and Momo. **

**Here's the preview:**

Two people jumped from telephone pole to telephone pole, soaring through the skies of Karakura Town, mostly invisible to the citizens below them.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" the boy asked. His blonde hair blew gently in the wind as they flew by a tall tree. His partner nodded, her teal eyes sparkling with a slight determination.

"That's what I was told," she said. The two of them stopped, landing in a tree and looking down at a house. Through the window, they could see people sleeping in one of the bedrooms.

"And that's the house?" he asked.

"Yes."

"You sure? 'Cause if we're wrong, this is gonna be really awkward."

"_Yes, I'm sure_," she hissed. "Now, come on."

They made their way down the tree limbs to the window and the boy rapped his knuckles on it. The sleeping people inside remained the way they were and the boy knocked again. This time one of the girls, the one at the desk, jerked awake and looked around the room sleepily. She gave a start at seeing them in the window. She hesitated, as if to make sure she wasn't dreaming, and leaned over her friends on the bed to open the window.

"Can I help you?" she asked slowly, taking in their appearances: the boy had shaggy blonde hair and eyes that were as yellow as his hair. He had a slight tan and at least three rings on the top of his left ear. He was tall, but well built, not gangly in the slightest like Daisuke. The girl was considerably shorter than him with black hair that had a white streaks and teal-colored eyes. Her skin was pale and a slight contrast to that of her partner. While the boy wore a stupid grin, the girl had a stern scowl.

"We're from Soul Society," said the boy.

"I gathered that much."

The girl elbowed her partner in the ribs and continued for him.

"My name is Ayako Hitsugaya and this is Koichi Urahara."

"Hiya!" he said brightly.

"Wait, Urahara?" Evee's eyes widened in recognition. "You're Kisuke's son?"

"Yep, that's me!"

"But, how come we've never met you?"

"I was in Soul Society with my mom before and then I went to the academy for the past six years. This is my first time in the world of the living. S'kinda boring from what I can tell…"

Ayako elbowed him again and he almost fell off the branch.

"_Anyway,_ we're here because we were assigned to this town. Koichi's mom said that we should stay here since his dad ran a shop and wouldn't have room for us."

"Which I think is a load of bull—" Ayako sent Koichi a glare and he stopped himself. "I mean, can we stay here?"

"In this house?" Evee asked, still trying to comprehend what was reality and what was a dream. "Um…yeah, yeah. Come in, I guess…"

She moved away from the window to let them in, laid down on the rug next to Daisuke and fell asleep again.

The two stared at her before exchanging a look.

"This is gonna be a long day," Ayako sighed.

**So, yeah, there you go. You'll have to wait and see what's going on with the captain stuff unfortunately. I have to put this story on HIATUS and this seemed like a better place to stop than just leaving them in Hueco Mundo. So, again, let me be clear, THIS STORY WILL CONTINUE. Just not now. I have another fanfic that I've been making people wait on too, so yeah…**

**BROFIST *mahahhh***


	29. Everyone's Home

**HEY GUYS! I'm back. I apologize for the wait, but I've been having stuff going on. Anyway, I'm back now, and that's all that matters….wow that was narcissistic…**

**Whatever, ON WITH THE SHOW—I MEAN STORY…yeah…**

Ch. 29

Two people jumped from telephone pole to telephone pole, soaring through the snowy skies of Karakura Town, mostly invisible to the citizens below them.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" the boy asked. His blonde hair blew gently in the wind as they flew by a tall tree. His partner nodded, her teal eyes sparkling with a slight determination.

"That's what I was told," she said. The two of them stopped, landing in a tree and looking down at a house across the street. Through the window, they could see people sleeping in one of the bedrooms.

"And that's the house?" he asked.

"Yes."

"You sure? 'Cause if we're wrong, this is gonna be really awkward."

"_Yes, I'm sure_," she hissed. "Now, come on."

They made their way down the tree limbs, stood in the air next to the window and the boy rapped his knuckles on it. The sleeping people inside remained the way they were and the boy knocked again. This time one of the girls, the one at the desk, jerked awake and looked around the room sleepily. She gave a start at seeing them in the window. She hesitated, as if to make sure she wasn't dreaming, and leaned over her friends on the bed to open the window.

"Can I help you?" she asked slowly, taking in their appearances: the boy had shaggy blonde hair and eyes that were just as yellow. He had a slight tan and three rings on the top of his right ear. He was tall, but well built, not gangly in the slightest like Daisuke. The girl was considerably shorter than him with teal-colored eyes and white-streaked black hair that had flecks of snow. Her skin was pale and a contrast to that of her partner. While the boy wore a stupid grin, the girl had a stern scowl.

"We're from Soul Society," said the boy.

"I gathered that much," Evee muttered bluntly.

The girl elbowed her partner in the ribs and continued for him.

"My name is Ayako Hitsugaya and this is Koichi Urahara."

"Hiya!" he said brightly.

"Wait, Urahara?" Evee's eyes widened in recognition. "You're Kisuke's son?"

"Yep, that's me!"

"But, how come we've never met you?"

"I was in Soul Society with my mom before and then I went to the academy for the past six years. This is my first time in the world of the living. S'kinda boring from what I can tell…"

Ayako elbowed him again and he almost fell out of the air.

"_Anyway,_ we're here because we were assigned to this town. Koichi's mom said that we should stay here since his dad ran a shop and wouldn't have room for us."

"Which I think is a load of bull—" Koichi was regaining his balance. Ayako sent Koichi a glare at his comment and he stopped himself from finishing it, instead saying, "I mean, can we stay here?"

"In this house?" Evee asked, still trying to comprehend what was reality and what was a dream. "Um…yeah, yeah. Come in, I guess…"

She moved away from the window to let them in, lay down on the rug next to Daisuke and fell asleep again.

The two stared at her before exchanging a look.

"This is gonna be a long day," Ayako sighed as they crawled in the window. Koichi looked back at the girl on the bed and with a grin, knelt next to her on the mattress and started trying to poke her awake.

"Helllooooo?"

Masaki groaned and curled up into a tighter ball, waving a hand to brush away the finger prodding her cheek.

"Go away, Daisuke," she growled. "I'm sleeping."

"Who's Daisuke?"

Masaki opened an eye to glare at the person who was disturbing her and saw nothing but yellow eyes and hair. Startled, she scrambled backward on the bed with a shout, effectively kicking Kaien in the chest and waking him as well.

"Masaki—what the—? Who the hell are you?" he shouted, catching sight of Koichi crouching over Masaki on the bed. Kaien's shout woke the other two and Daisuke immediately sprang to his feet, tackling Koichi to the ground.

"How did you get in here?" he demanded, pinning the other boy with one knee.

"Well hello to you too," Koichi grumbled, his voice muffled by the carpet.

"How did you get in here?" Daisuke repeated.

"I let them in," Evee cut in, sitting up and rubbing her eye with a yawn. "I thought it was a dream, but I guess it was real…"

Daisuke got off of Koichi, letting him up, and moved to sit next to Masaki. He wrapped an arm around her head, pulling her into his side and she tried in vain to push him away with one arm.

"So who are you anyway?" Daisuke asked as Masaki tried her best to get away.

"Daisuke—will you just—?"

"My name is Koichi Urahara, and this is Ayako Hitsugaya. We've been learning at the Soul Reaper Academy and have just graduated and been assigned to this town for a couple months and my mom said to just crash here, so here we are," Koichi rattled off, getting a little bored of having to repeat his introduction.

"Urahara?" Kaien asked. "I think Kisuke mentioned you…a few times…maybe…?"

"Wait, so if you're Kisuke's son, why aren't you guys staying at the shop?" Masaki asked, worming her face out of Daisuke's side. He still kept a firm grip on her. Koichi shrugged.

"I don't know. My mom said that Dad was busy at the shop and we'd just get in his way."

"Who's your mom?" asked Kaien.

"Yoruichi Shihouin."

"Oooh," the twins chorused. Any other explanation was cut short by footsteps on the stairs again as Ishiin burst into the room.

"Hey, you kids want to—who's this?" he asked, catching sight of Koichi, who had moved to the desk chair, and Ayako, who had remained standing.

"You explain this time," Koichi grumbled, gesturing vaguely at Ayako.

"We're from the Soul Society," she explained, trying to be polite. "I'm Ayako Hitsugaya and this is my partner, Koichi Urahara. We've been assigned to this town and were told to come here."

"Well, you're welcome to stay, if you like!" said Ishiin happily, earning confused looks from the other four. "My daughter and her family are staying here, so you'll have to share this room, but I think you'll fit."

Ayako also gave him a puzzled look.

"I'm not complaining, we're both very grateful for your hospitality," she began, "but won't it be a bit cramped with all six of us in here?"

"Oh, we don't live here," said Kaien, shaking his head. He stood up and patted her on the shoulder. "My sister and I live about a block away and Evee is practically across the street. And Daisuke…um…actually, I don't know where Daisuke lives."

Daisuke looked like he was thinking. "Oh, yeah. I guess you guys have never been to my house. Well, it's an apartment. We didn't think we'd be here long, so we just decided to stay in an apartment complex a few blocks away from here."

Ishiin broke into the conversation, "Oh, yeah, I came in here for a reason. I was going to ask if you guys wanted to go Christmas shopping!"

"Christmas shopping on Christmas?" Masaki asked skeptically, finally getting away from Daisuke.

"Yeah, that's a good point," said the tall boy, keeping his arm wrapped loosely around Masaki's shoulders. "There isn't gonna be anything in the stores at this point."

"Haven't you ever heard of last minute shopping?" Ishiin asked. "Come on, you can find something for your—for your parents."

He said the last few words quietly and it became obvious that his plan was to keep the teenagers' minds away from their parents. Kaien tried to hide the worry in his eyes behind a wide grin.

"That sounds fun, Grandpa."

"All right! Now we just need to get past the big idiot downstairs…"

"What big idiot?" Koichi inquired.

"Lieutenant Omaeda."

Koichi made a noise of disgust and even Ayako, who seemed all business, had to stifle a groan.

"Why not just go out the window?" asked Koichi. "That's how Ayako and I got in."

"Of course!" said Ishiin. "I still have the trampoline under the window!"

Ayako and Koichi gave the twins a look and they responded with another that clearly read, "Don't ask". The seven of them proceeded to jump out the window, landing on the small trampoline at the bottom and bouncing onto the sidewalk.

"How did we not see this?" Ayako muttered before following Koichi out the window and flash-stepping to the ground.

"You know, you didn't have to use the trampoline," she said to her partner. He grinned mischievously.

"Yeah, well, it's more fun that way."

Ayako rolled her eyes and they followed the group down the street.

"We'll drop the two of you off at the Urahara shop so you can get gigais and just meet us in town. I'm sure we'll find you," Ishiin called over his shoulder from his place at the front. Kaien fell back to walk next to Koichi.

"So, um, you and Ayako…are—are you, um, you know…together?"

"Yeah, we work together and we used to be classmates and—oh…you mean _together_."

Kaien nodded. "Yeah."

"No, not at all. I mean, I know I don't act like it, but I'm not the straightest line on the paper."

It took a second for the words to sink in and Kaien looked surprised, his mouth forming the word, "oh".

"Yeah," said Koichi with a grin. "That said; you're kind of cute."

"Uh…"

Kaien felt Evee's hand slip into his but when he looked at her, she continued to face forward, just a hint of a smile playing on her lips. Koichi held up his hands in surrender.

"I get it, I get it. You're taken, I'll back off."

Evee's grip loosened slightly, but she didn't let go. Kaien felt his face burn slightly but he smiled almost sheepishly at her and she grinned broadly, bringing her steps a little closer and briefly resting her head on his shoulder. Ahead of them, it seemed Daisuke had seen because he was trying to sleep his hand into Masaki's. She jerked her hand away, glaring at him and he tried again. This time, though it seemed that she was glaring at the ground, she didn't pull away.

**BREAK**

Soi Fon stood in shock, looking at the scene before her. Blood spattered the floor—it was everywhere. There was no body; it had long since deteriorated back into reishi. Still, it was doubtless who had been murdered. Without another word, she dashed out of the room, opening her mouth and taking a deep breath to call for help.

**BREAK**

Ten minutes later, they were standing in front of the Urahara shop, Koichi and Daisuke trying to pry the doors open while Ishiin called for Kisuke to open the door. The sleepy shop owner slid one of the doors ajar, glaring at them.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" he grumbled.

"It's almost eleven o'clock," said Ishiin.

"Must've dozed off," said Kisuke, flipping his fan open and regaining his usual attitude. "What can I do for you folks?"

"I think this is yours," Ishiin chuckled, pushing Koichi forward.

"Hi Dad!"

"Koichi! Haven't seen you in a while," Kisuke said cheerily. "Whatcha doing here?"

"We got assigned here."

"We?"

Koichi pulled Ayako closer, wrapping an arm around her neck.

"Ayako!" said Kisuke, hugging them both. Ayako looked highly irritated between the two of them, but didn't say anything.

"We both need a gigai, Mr. Urahara," she finally grumbled.

"Well, you've come to the right place! Come on in!"

"Actually, Mr. Urahara, we were gonna head into town," said Kaien. "We were just gonna have them meet us."

"All right then! They'll see you later!"

They left Koichi and Ayako behind, marching after Ishiin into the city.

Urahara told the two teenagers to wait upstairs while he checked on something in the basement. Once he'd climbed down the ladder, he was greeted by Ichigo's voice.

"Hey! Hat and clogs!"

Kisuke turned with a wide smile and a flourish of his signature fan.

"Look at that! Everyone made it back safe and sound! Well…alive…and who's this?"

He'd spotted little Moru clinging to Rangiku's pant leg.

"His name's Moru," Ichigo explained. "He helped us beat Aizen…er…he helped us, anyway."

Ichigo's voice trailed off.

"What's wrong?" Kisuke asked.

"It was never Aizen," Rukia blurted out. "He was using one of his guards and an illusion."

"So it was Aizen, but it wasn't," said Rangiku. "He fooled us."

"Again," Gin cut in. Chad grunted with a half-conscious Uryu on his back. Kisuke could see they were trying to hide their frustrations.

"Where are the kids?" Rukia asked, looking around as if she hoped to see them.

"You just missed them, actually," said the shop-keeper. "They were heading into town with your dad. They'll be back soon. In the meantime, you guys should head home and rest. It's been a long month."

"_Month?"_ they all shouted, gaping at him.

"Yeah, you didn't know? You can tell by Ichigo's beard."

"I don't have a beard!" snapped Ichigo, rubbing a hand along his chin to be sure. There _was_ a fair amount of ginger stubble adorning his face, but he wouldn't call it a _beard_…

Rukia couldn't help but smile at him.

"I like it. I think you should grow it out."

"Yeah?"

"You guys coming or what?" Rangiku called from her spot beside the ladder. The couple followed after the rest of the group up the ladder and out the shop's doors. Moru grew excited at the sight of the falling snow that gathered on the ground and ran around attempting to grab a snowflake. He suddenly stopped and pointed his finger at something down the street, a wide, open-mouthed grin plastered across his little face.

"Look!" Moru half shouted, waving at someone. "Hey! Mister! Lady! We never finished our game!"

The parents all turned to see their kids standing, almost dumbstruck about ten feet away. There was a long pause before the teenagers broke into a run and dashed toward their parents. Ichigo pulled both of the twins into a head-lock, hugging their faces to his chest while Rukia fussed over them.

"When I say stay put, I mean _stay put_," Ichigo sighed, kissing the tops of their heads. "Seriously guys, you almost gave me a heart attack!"

"Sorry Dad," the twins chorused. Beside them, Gin was scolding Daisuke.

"What made you think it was a good idea to follow them?" he asked, gripping his son's shoulders. He turned to Rangiku. "Why aren't you saying anything?"

"I already did," she lied. "He knows he's in trouble. Leave him alone."

Ishiin and Evee, whose parents were probably looking for her at the Kurosaki Clinic, stood aside as the others talked, Moru hopping around them, trying to figure out what was going on so he could share his opinion. Koichi and Ayako watched, unseen, from the doorway.

"Why aren't you like that with your parent's?" Koichi asked, leaning on the frame. Ayako stood, straight-backed as usual with her feet together. She was a regular little soldier sometimes.

"My dad's too busy with paper work. My mom and I spend time together though…"

"Hmm."

Koichi kept a straight face for a few seconds, watching the scene before him. Finally, he smirked, a small chuckle escaping his throat.

"Well, if we're gonna get those gigais we may as well do it now."

And with that, he turned on his heel and walked back into the building, Ayako following close behind.

**So yeah, it was an extra-long wait, so I thought I'd give you an extra-long chapter. Let me know what you think of the new characters, and I'm sorry this was a bit of a filler chapter and more fluff than anything, but now that we're past this, the story can get rolling again. Hopefully it won't be as long of a wait as last time. **


	30. Ichigo's In Trouble

**Oh, geez, 30 chapters? That went fast. Ok, again, I apologize for the wait, but at this point, I think you guys have realized that I don't have specific update times. I'll try to do that after this month though, because that's when everything will calm down and just sort of stop and I'll have free time. So, WOO. Ok. Also, I won't update for most of the month of June, for I will be visiting various countries in Europe and therefore, won't be able to really have internet. And, if I do, great, if not…well, I'll at least write chapters so that I can update when I get home…**

**I STILL DON'T OWN BLEACH. THE ONLY CHARACTERS I OWN HERE ARE THE OFFSPRING OF THE CHARACTERS I DON'T. **

**UPDATE: I REWROTE THIS CHAPTER, SO READ IT AGAIN. I'LL GET THE NEXT ONE UP SOONISH MAYBE. **

Chapter 30

Soi Fon felt an odd tingling in the back of her head. Something was wrong. Her thoughts seemed to be flying as she frantically scurried away from the Senkaimon to the head captain's barracks. Something was going on, something bad, but she wasn't sure what. As she skidded to a stop in front of the doors to the head captain's office, a large group of Shinigami from Squad Four was exiting, grim looks on their faces.

"What's going on here?" she asked a passing medic. He looked up at her, opened his mouth to respond, closed it and shook his head before continuing on his way. Soi Fon stood thinking for a second before stopping another boy, Hanataro and pulling him away from the crowd.

"Yamada, what happened here?" she asked. Hanataro backed into a wall and eventually stuttered out, "Th-there was n-nothing we c-could do!" before running off to join his squad. Soi Fon glared at the wall where he used to be and then looked into the doorway. She stood there, stunned at the sight before her. Head Captain Shigekuni Genryusai Yamamoto lay dead on the wooden floor, cut nearly in half from his shoulder to his hip and disintegrating back into spirit particles. Numbly, she walked over to what was left of the body and could only stand in shock. Her eyes traveled around the room and rested on something she never thought she'd see. The zanpaku-to of Ichigo Kurosaki was stuck into the floor, just behind the head captain's seat. The Squad Two captain yanked it up and stared in wonder at it before lifting it into the air and driving it back between the wooden slats.

"Kurosaki," she growled under her breath. "You've gone _too_ far this time!"

**BREAK**

Even though they attempted to go Christmas shopping, the reunited families realized very quickly that they didn't have any money. Instead, everyone had gone home, the twins to Ishiin's again because their parents decided to go to Soul Society to explain the Aizen situation.

"What are we gonna say to them?" Ichigo asked, wondering how he could explain everything that had happened. It was so strange, yet so obvious that he almost smacked himself for not figuring it out sooner.

"We'll just say what happened," Rukia replied. "That Aizen was manipulating a guard to do all of his dirty work."

Ichigo scratched the back of his head. "I hope that'll work," he said. The two of them made their way to Kisuke's. Rukia put her hand on the door to open it and froze.

"What is it?"

"Why is Soi Fon here?" she asked, feeling the reiatsu. "There's a lot of others with her...you don't think something happened in Soul Society, do you?"

Ichigo grimaced. "Well, Aizen _did_ say he left me a present."

Rukia shot him a concerned look before slowly opening the door. The store was empty but she knew where they all were. Ichigo set Zangetsu against a shelf and stretched. He was getting to old for this. Rukia and Ichigo climbed down to the basement to find that, sure enough, Soi Fon was there, flanked by what looked like her entire squad.

"What's going on?" Ichigo called. Soi Fon's head whipped around to look at him, unbridled fury all over her face. She dashed at him, Suzumibachi on her finger already aimed at Ichigo's chest. Rukia blocked the attack with her zanpaku-to and pushed the captain back.

"What's going on, captain?" Rukia repeated, a little more force in her voice. Soi Fon didn't answer, doing everything in her power to get at Ichigo. Ichigo and Rukia practically flew back out of the basement and ran, flash-stepping away.

"What was that about?" Ichigo asked.

"I don't know! What did you do?" Rukia shouted back. Soi Fon was clearly out for blood.

"I didn't do anything!" Ichigo defended himself. "_I_ was in Hueco Mundo for a month! This must be what Aizen meant." He paused before asking, "Do you think he's controlling her?"

Rukia shook her head. "No...no, I don't think so..." Though she couldn't explain why... Soul Reapers from squad two appeared around them, surrounding them as they stood in the air. Soi Fon stood at the front, stepping forward.

"Come with us now, Kurosaki."

"Why? What did I do?" Ichigo demanded, trying to keep calm while his eyes searched for an escape route.

"Ichigo Kurosaki, you are under arrest for the murder of the Head Captain of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads."

Ichigo nearly lost his footing. "I _what?_"

"You know what you did, don't feign ignorance!" Soi Fon spat at him. Rukia stepped forward.

"You're not taking him anywhere," she said. "I can vouch for him, he wasn't anywhere near the Head Captain."

"Where was he then?"

"I was stuck in Hueco Mundo! Trying to take care of a prisoner that _you_ guys should really learn to take better care of!" Ichigo yelled. Soi Fon scoffed.

"That's the same excuse your idiot father used. Is he really fit to look after children?"

"You stay away from them!" Ichigo nearly knocked Rukia over when he shot forward. "They've got nothing to do with this! And what do you mean 'excuse'?"

"Aizen is still in his cell. His guard is the one missing—."

"We know all that!" Rukia cut in. "We were just coming to tell you all that he'd manipulated his guard to take on his face and do his dirty work!"

Soi Fon's glare faltered for the briefest second before she nodded to the others who moved closer. "That still doesn't explain why Kurosaki's zanpaku-to was in the Head Captain's office."

"_What are you talking about?_" Ichigo was starting to get annoyed. He reached back to grab Zangetsu. "My zanpaku-to is right—right—..."

Rukia was looking at him with wide eyes. Zangestu wasn't there. _Where was it?_ Ichigo wracked his brain frantically. How could he have been so stupid as to leave Zangestu anywhere?! _Kisuke's!_ He set it against the shelf!

"Listen, Zangetsu is just back at Urahara's! I bet one of you passed it on your way out! If you just let us go back and get it—."

"Arrest him!" Soi Fon barked, tired of excuses. Ichigo suddenly had five men nearly on top of him, restraining him.

"Captain, please!" Rukia pleaded, trying to stay reasonable. "I can find others who know where Ichigo was! I promise you, he did _not_ kill the Head Captain." The words felt odd in her mouth but she said them anyway. Soi Fon stepped closer to Rukia until they were face to face.

"Don't make me arrest you too. You have a criminal record that's responsible for _this_," she pointed at Ichigo. "I can take you in on the slightest technicality."

Rukia's eyes widened but she glared, standing her ground. She knew Byakuya would probably kill her for this, but, "Do it then."

**BREAK**

"How long has it been since you cleaned up here, Grandpa?" Kaien asked. He and his sister were standing in the attic of the Kurosaki Clinic. Boxes, dust and various amounts of junk were scattered around the room.

"I dunno," Ishiin said, looking around. "But that's why you're here!"

"Right..." Masaki said, feigning enthusiasm. "Send the one-armed girl to go move large boxes..."

"You've still got two arms," Kaien said with a pointed look at his sister. Masaki nodded in agreement and tried to lift her right arm from its sling.

"This one's pretty useless right now though..."

"Yeah, I'll give you that. So what do we do with all the junk up here, Grandpa?" Kaien turned to address Ishiin but he had disappeared from the attic doorway. "Where'd he go?"

The doorbell rang not a second later. "Oh." Kaien and Masaki set to work, sorting the junk from the keepsakes but didn't get far before Ishiin appeared again, looking very grim. He opened his mouth to answer their startled expressions, but decided against it and stepped back down the ladder. They followed him and were shocked to find Lieutenant Omaeda standing in the doorway, a smug grin on his fat face.

"Looks like you two get to come hang out in Soul Society for a while," he said, pulling on a glove.

"Wha—?" Masaki started. She was cut off when he grabbed the back of her shirt, pulling her out of her body and then doing the same with Kaien. He picked them both up easily with one hand each and nodded a goodbye to Ishiin.

"Where are you taking us?" Kaien asked, swinging when he tried to squirm free. The neck of his shihakusho was starting to strangle him a little.

"Soul Society," Omaeda grunted. "Your parents got into a little bit of trouble so we're putting you two under house arrest with your uncle."

"I'm sure he'll enjoy that," Masaki said sarcastically. Omaeda turned his attention to her.

"Anyway, I think we can get past our problems and be nice to each other if you cooperate," he said. Masaki responded by biting his large thumb and he nearly dropped her. Nearly.

"Why you little—!" he howled, shaking Masaki around. She smiled sweetly at him.

"Oops, sorry! That was the Hollow. It doesn't like people very much." Sarcasm dripped from every word.

A Senkaimon opened in front of them and he threw Masaki forward. She managed to land on her feet and walk through. If she had to deal with this fat oaf the whole way to Byakuya's, it was going to be a long trip.

**BREAK**

Nel watched from behind a building as three people piled out of the Senkaimon.

"So _that'_s Kurosaki's family?"

Nel looked down at the smaller Arrancar, who was back in her normal form, and who was grinning wickedly at the two teenagers following a lieutenant.

"Not all of them," Nel said, easily figuring out which one's belonged to Ichigo. It was obvious the overweight lieutenant wasn't related to Ichigo in anyway. The boy that was right behind him looked just like Ichigo though, only with black hair and only bits of orange. The girl walking next to him must have been his sister. Not for the first time, Nel questioned what she was doing. She liked Ichigo! She didn't want to hurt him! Why was she putting up with this?

"Whatever," said her partner, pulling Nel out of her thoughts. "We'll just take them all out and see which ones hurt him the most."

"We're not supposed to do that," Nel reminded the other. "We're supposed to frame Ichigo and then wait for Aizen's orders. Nothing else, remember?"

The other arrancar crossed her arms and pouted. "You're no fun."

Nel looked back up at the group only to see that they had turned a corner and were out of sight.

"Can we at least follow them?" her partner asked. Nel shut her eyes, taking another deep breath and after a pause answered.

"Alright. We'll follow them."

She had to find a way to get Ichigo and his family out of this without her partner or Aizen catching on…but how could she do it? Nel knew she only had a partner to keep an eye on her and make sure she didn't do exactly what she was planning to…

_I'll find a way,_ she thought. _I have to. _

**UDPATE: I CAN'T TYPE UPDATE. AND I REDID THIS CHAPTER, SO IGNORE MOST OF THE NOTE THAT FOLLOWS THIS. **

**I'm sorry that this chapter was pretty much all dialogue. I hit a wall (both figuratively and literally at times) so I hate it, but this was the best I could do. I promise I'll do better later :P**

**Anyway, read and review, the few of you who are still with me. **


	31. The Twins Escape

**Going back and looking at some of my author's notes, I found one that said rehearsals for My Fair Lady were starting. That was about eight chapters ago. That was also a year ago because now rehearsals for the Wizard of Oz are starting. I need to step it up. **

**Don't own stuff. Yep. Oh, and new character in here that belongs to Shin Ichimaru who asked me to put their character in, so I played around with the idea and did it anyway. So yeah. **

**ALSO: I rewrote most of the last chapter, so if you haven't yet, re-read it. If it isn't mostly dialogue, you're good. **

Chapter 31 

Masaki and Kaien sneaked up to the front door, opening it just a crack to peer out. Sure enough, the Soul Reaper was still there, standing guard. The twins looked at each other, raised an eyebrow and slid the door open.

"Hey! You have to stay here!" the guard said, stopping them from stepping outside. The two of them leaned against the sides of the doorway and looked at him.

"What do you think we're gonna do?" Masaki asked, while Kaien crossed his arms.

The guard turned red and adjusted his silver glasses on his nose. "Er...well...how should I know? All I was told was that I was supposed to make sure you didn't leave."

Kaien laughed. "Look, dude, we're just gonna walk around the grounds a little bit, y'know, get some exercise."

"We'll technically still be _here,_" Masaki said. The two of them tried to leave again, but again the guard stopped them, barring their way with his staff. His dark blue eyes glared the two of them down.

"The order was for the two of you to stay inside," he growled. He pulled the staff away. "Please. I don't want to start a fight."

Masaki rolled her eyes and the two of them stepped back inside, still watching the guard as he turned his back on them again. After a while he could feel them watching him and turned around.

"What?"

"You're in squad two right?" Kaien asked.

"How did you know that?" the guard asked suspiciously. Masaki pointed at his feet.

"You're wearing the same shoes as Captain Soi Fon."

"Oh...right...well, still," he said, tugging at the teal bandana around his neck. "That's none of your concern."

"What's your name?" Kaien asked. The guard seemed a little surprised by the question.

"Er—Shin. Shin Kaiyin."

Masaki snorted.

"What? What's wrong with that?"

"My name's Kaien too," Kaien elaborated. Shin nodded and flicked some of his long, sandy hair out of his face.

"I'm sure it's spelled differently. I've been told I have an odd name."

The twins shrugged nearly in synch with each other, Masaki only being able to use one shoulder.

"So, Shin," Masaki started. "How bad do you think the world would end if you let the big, bad Kurosaki twins wander around the courtyard that's completely within your view?"

Shin opened and closed his mouth a few times before he scowled and turned on his heel and stating resolutely, "I'm supposed to make sure you stay inside."

Kaien glared at Shin's back before glancing at Masaki. "Fine."

The two of them were heading back inside when Shin stopped them, addressing Masaki. "I can heal that, if you want..."

"Sorry?" Masaki asked, looking over her shoulder.

"Your shoulder. I could heal it if you want me to."

Masaki blinked at him, a little confused at the sudden change in attitude. "Ah...no thanks. They're having someone from squad four come in and look at it later. I wouldn't want them to come for nothing."

"Well, still...Ah! Captain Kuchiki!" Shin exclaimed, standing at attention. Byakuya was walking across the courtyard towards them. In his wake was Hanataro who waved nervously at Masaki.

"I-I'm here to help fix your shoulder," he stammered once they were close. Byakuya acknowledged Shin with a look before walking through the door.

"Let them walk in the courtyard," he said, almost in passing.

"Y-yes, sir..." Shin said. Byakuya went inside and disappeared down a hallway. Shin turned to see Masaki and Kaien with identical smug grins on their faces. It paid to have a captain be your uncle.

"Uh, come with me...I guess," said Hanataro, leading Masaki inside.

"I'll be right back," she said with a smirk and following Hanataro. The Soul Reaper from squad four looked at Masaki then back at the floor, wanting to start a conversation, but afraid of the only topic that kept coming to mind.

"I—uh—I hope your parents get off okay..."

Masaki slowly stopped smiling. "Yeah, me too. I know my dad didn't do it, but they won't take my word for it. They said I'm 'too biased' or something."

"Yeah..." Hanataro muttered, regretting starting this conversation just a little bit. "Um, in here, will work."

The two of them opened the door to a sitting room where Masaki assumed important family meetings were once held. They sat on pillows across from each other and Masaki moved so that he could reach her shoulder.

"Thank you for doing this," she said while he healed it. "You're a lot cooler than people give you credit for."

"I am?" Hanataro asked skeptically. Masaki nodded.

"Yeah! My dad used to tell me stories about how you helped him save mom and all. I think you guys are really underestimated too. Just because squad eleven goes out and destroys stuff doesn't mean you haven't seen your fair share. You guys do a lot of good work..." Masaki said, rolling her shoulder when he finished. "...which is why I'm really sorry about this."

She drove her elbow up under his chin and knocked him out. Masaki lifted him under his arms and dragged him over to another pillow so that it looked like he was asleep and then took off down the hall to find Kaien.

**BREAK**

Shin kept looking back at Kaien, waiting for something to happen.

"I thought you wanted to walk around the courtyard," he said. Kaien shrugged.

"So did Masaki. I'm waiting for her to get back."

There was a flash of black and orange and Kaien joked, "Speak of the devil!" Before Shin could turn around, the hilt of a sword was rammed into the back of his neck and he crashed to the ground.

"Sorry about this!" Masaki said from somewhere above him. "Really! But we have to prove our dad is innocent."

"We can't do that from here," Kaien continued. Without another word, the twins fled the courtyard, flash-stepping away.

He knew he should've taken their weapons. Why it didn't occur to him is beyond his thoughts, but it didn't matter now. Shin would have to catch them before someone else did and yelled at him for letting them go. _I was supposed to keep them inside,_ he thought while black spots began to appear in his vision. This couldn't end well.

"Ah, crap," Shin muttered, letting his head fall.

**Shin Ichimaru, I'm sorry if I'm getting your character all wrong, but he seems like he'd be kind of a stick in the mud at first and then lighten up when around friends. So yeah. If that was right, let me know and I'll keep it up. Anyway, sorry about the shortness, but I've been sick and have make-up work to do so yeah. **


	32. Down the Hatch

**And I'm back! Wizard of Oz is over, but You Can't Take It With You is starting, so yeah. Spotty updates (like they weren't already...)**

**Also, I'm sorry if the quality or quantity of these chapters has decreased. I'm focusing more on my own fiction stuff and I have always had this issue with starting but never finishing stories. So I have a _lot_ that I'm working on. **

**Again, if that's the case, thank you for your patience and continued reading. I really do appreciate it, even if I take forever to update. **

**Don't own Bleach, or its characters, blah blah blah, you guys know the drill. **

Chapter 32

The entrance to the former head captain's barracks were heavily guarded as the twins flash-stepped along the roof tops.

"How're we gonna get in?" Kaien asked once Masaki was crouching next to him. His sister studied the scene below them, the wheels in her head turning. Kaien tried to count how many Soul Reapers there were. "We can't take them all..."

"Not even close," Masaki muttered, biting her lip. "Hm...hold on a second..."

"What?" Kaien scooted closer to the edge of the roof and Masaki held up a finger, signaling him to wait. Then she pointed at the roof of the building across from them before jumping over to it. Kaien sped after her and followed when she jumped down to the ground, out of sight of the guards.

"Shut up," Masaki whispered when Kaien's feet hit the stone.

"I didn't say anything!" Kaien hissed back indignantly.

"Shh!"

Kaien shh'ed for a second before leaning in next to his sister's ear. "What's the plan?"

Masaki nodded at a hatch in the road in front of them. "We go down there, come out, over there behind the barracks, then find a way in."

"Oh, okay then," said Kaien, starting to lift the hatch.

"Stop!"

The twins groaned and turned to see Shin standing with his zanpaku-to out, the lion-head hilt glinting in the fading light of the sun. Masaki stepped a little cautiously closer to him.

"Hey! Sorry about earlier," she hissed in a loud whisper, "but we need to get in here and if you keep yelling like that, I'm gonna have to knock you out again."

"I'd like to see you try," said Shin, not bothering to lower his voice. Kaien stepped up next to Masaki, one hand on the hilt of his sword.

"Look, Shin, you seem like a cool guy and we really wanna like you, but you're in our way right now and that's not a good place to be."

"I don't care."

"Come on, man," Kaien groaned. "Can you just leave us alone for like, ten minutes?"

"My orders were to keep you inside Captain Kuchiki's home." Shin clenched his jaw in defiance, keeping his sword aimed at the two of them. Kaien sighed and looked over at Masaki.

"Doesn't look like he's gonna cooperate. Shall we?" he asked. Masaki shrugged.

"If he insists."

The twins drew their zanpaku-to in a flash shouting, "Rise, Toketsu Tsuki!" and "Blaze, Taiyo no Nensho!" at the same time. They stood on either side of the alley, mirroring each other's movements.

"Make a break down the hatch when I say go," Masaki hissed to Kaien out of the corner of her mouth. He nodded and gripped his sword tighter. She shouted and threw a wave of ice at Shin while Kaien fired an arc of flame. Steam filled the air between the twins and Shin, creating a cover. "Now!"

The twins dashed through the hatch in the street, wrenching it open and dropping down inside before Shin could find his way through the fog.

"Alright," said Kaien, putting his sword away, "now where?"

Masaki pointed ahead of them. "That way."

They sprinted down the sidewalk-ish area of the sewer, straining to see ahead of them.

"So, how long do you think that Shin guy is gonna follow us?" Kaien asked. Masaki barked out a laugh.

"As long as it takes. He doesn't seem like the type to give up that easily." She looked over her shoulder. "Actually, I'm kind of surprised he hasn't followed us down here yet."

"That _was_ a lot of steam we made," Kaien pointed out. Masaki shrugged.

"Well, _yeah_, but it wasn't _that _thick. I figured he'd get himself out by now."

"Huh."

The two of them lapsed into silence, slowing down when Kaien slipped on an edge. Finally they were underneath another hatch.

"This should be it," Masaki said, starting to climb up to it. Kaien stayed where he was, his eyes cast toward the floor.

"Hey, Saki..."

Masaki hesitated. _Since when does he call me 'Saki'? _"Yeah?"

Kaien smiled and looked back up at her. His eyes had turned completely black. Masaki jumped down again, drawing her sword.

"Just wondering when you were gonna notice that it wasn't me," he said with a sickening smile.

Kaien pushed back Shin's sword. The noise was starting to attract some of the guards and Masaki was nowhere to be found. He'd heard her yell something, but he couldn't tell what it was. Next thing he knew he was stuck in the steam with Shin. One look over his shoulder told him that the guards approaching weren't going to be very friendly.

"Listen to me!" he pleaded as they clashed again. "When those guys get over here, we're _both_ going to be in an even bigger mess. Do you wanna get in trouble?"

Shin just glared at him, but something in his eyes betrayed him.

"No?" Kaien continued. "Me neither. Tell you what—" He pushed Shin away again. "—follow me down the hatch, neither of us get caught, and when we find what we're looking for, you can take us back to Uncle Byakuya's. No trouble or anything. Deal?"

Shin seemed to be thinking about it. However, he was thinking it over far slower than Kaien would have liked. "_Well?_"

The other boy looked at the ground and sighed before he nodded. "Fine. I'll go with you. But you promise you'll let me take you back?"

Kaien broke into a relieved grin. "We'll be back before they even notice we left."

Shin nodded and took hold of Kaien's arm, leading him down the hatch. Kaien blinked at the sudden lack of light.

"Sure is dark down here," he muttered.

"Who are you?" Masaki demanded, keeping her sword leveled in front of her. Not-Kaien tilted his head, like a small child choosing a toy.

"Don't you recognize me?" he asked. His voice changed as he spoke and so did his face. It grew a little bit longer, his hair turning orange and he grew a few inches until finally Ichigo stood in front of her, his eyes completely black. "No hug for dear old dad?"

Masaki took a few steps back, her mind working frantically to figure out what was going on. Not-Ichigo continued.

"Well, I guess I _did_ just murder someone. I suppose I don't deserve a hug."

Quickly glancing up at the hatch, Masaki focused her attention on an escape plan. She was directly under the hatch. If she used shunpo, she could just shoot straight up and out. Still...she'd only get one shot. If she missed...

"Who are you?" Masaki repeated, chancing another look upward.

"Oh, you know," he said, morphing into Hollow Masaki. "A friend."

_**Psh. That doesn't look like me**_, said the voice of her real hollow in her head.

_Shut up, _Masaki hissed back. _And it couldn't be closer._ _Now be quiet I'm trying to think._

_**You know, you wouldn't have to come up with an escape plan if you just let me out. I could beat this...eh...thing in about two seconds.**_

_I don't think so._

"Do you always space off on people like that? It's really rude, you know," the shape-shifter complained. Masaki laughed a little nervously.

"Just trying to figure out what you really look like."

"Oh, well then—" it morphed again into a short, but gangling arrancar with long metal claws instead of fingers. Her long hair fell down her back, and Masaki couldn't figure out what color it was. The more she watched it, the more it changed. The pieces of bone formed a sort of necklace over the arrancar's collar bone. "Is that better?"

**Toketsu Tsuki- Loosely translated means "freezing moon" and Taiyo no Nensho- again loosely translated is something about the sun. I couldn't find where I had it written down. **

**Anyway, I was supposed to be doing homework (shhhh) so, yeah. I did this instead. **


	33. Anger and Worry

**Well, You Can't Take It With You is almost over, I'm almost done with high school and I've gotten over my nervous breakdown. So, here's a new chapter. I'm _so_ sorry that I've been taking so long, but as you can tell from what you've just read, I've been busy. For the, like four of you that still read this stupid thing, thank you so much. You have no idea how much it means to me. Especially those that leave a review. **

**Anyway, I'm done rambling. Here's the thingy.**

**Don't own stuff.**

Chapter 33

Daisuke stretched, leaning back in his desk chair. The air in the classroom around him was warm and lethargic. People were falling asleep as the teacher droned on. On his right, Evee had her head down on one arm, distractedly rolling a pencil across the desk with the other. The desks on his left and in front of him were empty.

_Masaki and Kaien have been gone a while,_ he thought with a yawn. _Hope they're alright..._

His parents hadn't told him much about why the Kurosaki family had had to stay in Soul Society, just that they probably wouldn't be back for a while. Deciding he should pay attention, Daisuke picked up his pencil and started writing—or at least tried to. Instead his pencil made absent-minded circles all over the corner.

Behind him, Ayako had diligently been taking notes. In just the month that she and her partner had been attending this school she had become determined to learn everything she could so that she could blend in. Koichi, on the other hand, couldn't care less and often sat behind her, drawing pictures instead of doing his assignments. In fact, he was among the number of students fast asleep in their seats.

The teacher paused briefly, making sure they had everything written down, and the door opened. A student representative walked over to the teacher, handing her a note. Giving it a quick scan, the teacher turned back to the board.

"Ichimaru, Schiffer, Hitsugaya, and Urahara, you're dismissed. Don't forget the homework due tomorrow."

Exchanging a look, Daisuke and Evee stood up while Ayako thrust her elbow behind her, nailing Koichi in the nose. He snorted awake, rubbing his face, muttering a few curses.

"Ah! What? Oh."

The four of them left the room, walking quickly down the hallway. Evee glanced out the window. "What do you think this is about?"

"Soul Society?" Koichi suggested, lightly poking the bridge of his nose. He shot a glare at Ayako. "I think you broke it..."

"I didn't sense anything worth leaving for," Ayako said, ignoring Koichi. Daisuke kept his eyes forward, hoping that they were going to Soul Society. He was anxious to see how Masaki was doing. Daisuke couldn't help but worry about her. She could fight, he had no doubt about that, but she always found some way to get in over her head. Sure, Kaien was there too, but he wasn't much better...

Daisuke let out a small sigh, his stride growing longer as he sped up. _Don't be doing anything stupid..._

**BREAK**

_CRACK._

Something was broken. Masaki couldn't tell if it was her ankle or the arrancar's foot, but whatever it was left a sound that echoed throughout the tunnels. It didn't matter anyway. Somehow, Masaki had gained the upper hand. She slashed and hacked at the arrancar, only to be blocked by it's sword-like fingers, until finally Masaki had backed her into a corner, the tip of her sword at the arrancar's throat. Fear flashed briefly in the arrancar's eyes as she looked up at Masaki.

"Are you going to do it?" the arrancar asked. Masaki's lip curled in anger. The whole time she was fighting, she had been thinking. This arrancar impersonated Masaki's father and killed the head captain. This arrancar got Ichigo arrested. This arrancar was the whole reason Masaki was stuck here in the first place.

"Give me a reason," she growled, pressing the tip further into the arrancar's neck. "I dare you."

"Ooo, the baby reaper's getting brave then?" the other mocked, a wide grin adorning her face. In a quick, fluid movement, Masaki whipped her sword away, hooked her foot behind the arrancar's ankle and suddenly the latter was flat on her back on the ground, the tip of Masaki's zanpaku-to positioned right between her eyes. The sword was letting off frost, tiny bits of ice settling in the arrancar's eyebrows.

"_**I warned you.**_" Masaki's voice was distorted and her eyes flashed yellow as she lifted her sword, ready to bring it down. She could feel the fury building in her chest, and it wasn't just the hollow. She _wanted_ to kill this arrancar, to drive her sword between its eyes and embed it in its brain. She _wanted_ to watch the light leave its eyes as the zanpaku-to went all the way through.

And it scared her.

"You feel that?" the arrancar laughed, just as Masaki was about to swing. "That anger? You want me to suffer. And then I'll have done my job because _you'll_ suffer. Could you handle my blood on your hands?"

Masaki hesitated before responding. "What are you talking about?"

"You've never actually killed anyone before, have you? Oh, sure you've killed hollows, but those don't really count. They aren't people anymore—but me...I have some humanity back. You can't kill me, can you?"

Masaki blinked, but shook her head, clearing her thoughts. "Shut up. In case you haven't noticed, you're in no position to be questioning me. _I'm_ not the one on the ground with a sword in my face."

"Masaki?"

Masaki looked up at the sound of her name to see Kaien standing a few feet away, Shin right behind him. Their eyes widened at the sight of the arrancar and the two of them brandished their swords in front of them. Taking advantage of the situation, the arrancar disappeared out from under Masaki's sword with a laugh that echoed down the tunnels. Masaki growled in frustration.

"Don't let her get away!"

"Hold on!" Kaien said, reaching out to stop Masaki as she stumbled. "You don't look too well. Maybe you should sit down and—."

"Shut up. I'm fine," she grumbled, swatting his hand away. Masaki took off down the tunnel—far away from the hatch they needed.

"Masaki!" Kaien called after her, running off in the same direction with Shin right on his tail.

Masaki ran as fast as she could, making sure to keep the arrancar in sight. Unfortunately, she lost any sign of it far too soon. She slowed to a stop, listening to the echoing laugh bounce off the walls around her. A little ways ahead, a hatch opened in the ceiling. Without another thought, Masaki flashed underneath it, shooting up and out. When she landed, she took a second to take in her surroundings. It looked a little like...a school?

"Am I in the soul reaper academy?" she asked no one in particular. Masaki shook her head. It didn't matter now. She had to find the arrancar.

**Okay, so I'm gonna stop there, but it's getting to a point that I actually had planned out, so hopefully there will be another update soon. **

**And good, Masaki. Let the hate flow through you. Give in to the dark side hahahahaha. **

**Bad Star Wars reference. **

**Anyway, read and review please. Thank you and goodbye. **


	34. In the Academy

**So, yep. Here you go. **

**I don't own Bleach, and honestly, it's been 34 chapters now, I can probably stop adding this. **

Ch. 34

"There's a high concentration of unknown reiatsu at the Soul Reaper Academy. We have evacuated and require captains from squads 2, 6, and 11."

Daisuke looked up at the sound of the announcement. He'd lost the others a long time ago, having decided to look for the twins himself. "I guess they're at the academy..." He was close by...I couldn't be _that_ hard for him to sneak in.

**BREAK**

Masaki wandered through the now empty hallway, zanpaku-to held up at the ready. Kaien wasn't far behind. They had lost Shin a long time ago; no doubt he was searching for them. Kaien watched his sister's back in front of him. He hadn't liked the look in her eyes when she ran after the arrancar. She was so..._angry_. What scared him the most was that there wasn't a speck of yellow in her eyes. It wasn't the hollow at all.

He didn't know what to think of it.

Kaien froze, a cold shiver running down his spine as he realized someone was behind him. He whirled around, swinging his sword, only to have it stopped by another one that was emitting a bluish light.

"Daisuke?"

The two boys lowered their swords, smiles breaking across their faces.

"What are you doing here?" Kaien asked.

I could ask you the same question, buddy," Daisuke replied, suddenly grim. "I heard about your dad...It's not true, is it?"

Kaien rolled his eyes, throwing his hands up. "No! Of course not! There's no way he could have done it. Unfortunately, we're having a bit of trouble explaining why."

Daisuke shrugged. "Yeah, I wouldn't expect them to listen to you guys." He patted Kaien on the shoulder. "I believe you."

"You're such a big help," Kaien scoffed. Daisuke just grinned in return.

"Anyway, we got called here, but they won't tells us why."

"'We'?" Kaien asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, Evee and the other two are here," Daisuke elaborated. Kaien's eyes lit up a little.

"Evee's here?"

"Well, not _here_ here, but she's in Soul Society, yeah," Daisuke said with a wide grin. "Where's Masaki?"

Kaien's eyebrows furrowed together. "What do you mean? She's right over—over there..." Masaki had disappeared around the corner. "Well, she was anyway."

Daisuke rolled his eyes. "Come on. Let's go find her."

Kaien stopped Daisuke, grabbing his shoulder. "Hold on. I need to tell you something."

"What?"

He hesitated. "I'm a little worried about Masaki..."

"Yeah, me too," Daisuke pressed. "That's why I'm here trying to find her—"

"No! No, I mean, I'm worried she's losing control of the hollow or something..."

Daisuke fixed Kaien with a worried look. "Why? What makes you say that? She didn't attack you did she?"

"What? No, of course not." Kaien paused. "But...she's been a little, well...angry."

Daisuke raised an eyebrow. "Isn't she always?"

"Well, yeah, but I mean a bit more than usual."

"I sure she's fine," Daisuke assured him, waving a hand. "But we should probably find her before someone else does."

"You mean me?"

The boys whirled around to see the arrancar, a cat-like grin on her face spreading from ear to ear. She dashed forward, jamming her claws into Daisuke's chest. Kaien shouted, but Daisuke didn't feel anything. He knew he should—the claws were sticking through his back; he should probably be dead—but there wasn't any blood.

"What the—?"

The arrancar slowly pulled her claws away and with it brought a dull, throbbing pain. It escalated int a burn, like she was ripping something out of him.

"Daisuke!" Kaien yelled. His tone sounded odd though...it wasn't shock—it was a warning. Daisuke finally broke free of the arrancar and stumbled backward, clutching his chest. When he looked up, he was greeted with the sight of..._himself_ standing there, smiling at him with a dark grin that spread underneath black and yellow eyes.

She'd released his dormant hollow.

**BREAK**

"Koichi, _what_ are you doing?"

"Nobody at the moment," he replied glumly. At the odd look from Ayako, he corrected himself. "Oh! You said 'what'. Fighting boredom."

Koichi was trying and failing miserably to walk on his hands. This was the fifth time he had fallen flat on his back. Evee sat at the table, nervously intertwining her fingers together, only to pull them apart again. Ayako, who had been working on schoolwork from the World of the Living, was glaring at Koichi.

"Well, it's distracting. Stop it."

"What else am I supposed to do? Homework?"

"It wouldn't kill you."

Koichi sat up, pointing at Evee. "Evee's not doing her homework."

Ayako slammed her pen on the table. "You are _such _a _child!_"

"Yep," Koichi said with a grin. "_And _I'm older than you. Just think of that."

She shut her eyes, taking a deep breath and Evee decided to change the subject.

"Where do you think Daisuke went?" she asked. Koichi hauled himself up into a chair.

"Probably out looking for his girlfriend."

Evee tilted her head a little to the left. "Girlfriend? Oh! You mean Masaki! Oh, they're not dating."

"Yeah, they kinda are," Koichi assured her, looking at Ayako for support. She glanced briefly up from her paper before looking at Evee.

"You could have fooled me."

"Well, trust me, they're not. Actually, I'm pretty sure she hates him," Evee clarified.

"Anyway, I'm sure they're fine," Koichi said after a pause. He leaned back in his chair, putting his feet up on the table. Evee shifted in her seat a little, looking at her hand in her lap. Daisuke had been gone a while...

All three of their head shot up at the sound of the announcement.

"I think they've been found," Koichi muttered, jumping to his feet. "Come on!"

"Your mom said to stay here!" Ayako protested, gripping her chair firmly. Koichi looked down at her and without warning lifted the chair over his head, Ayako clinging on for dear life. Startled, Evee hesitantly stood as well, following them out the door.

**BREAK**

Masaki stepped carefully and quietly down the corridor. She could feel her anger slowly slipping away, replaced by fatigue. Her vision blurred a little and she was struggling to keep her eyes open. Why was she so tired all of a sudden? She shook her head, trying to clear it.

A figure stepped out of the shadows of a darkened classroom and Masaki lifted her sword in front of her. The shadow smiled nervously, holding up their hands.

"Hey! Stop! Please! I-I know your dad! I can help!" they said. Unsteady on her feet, Masaki leaned on the wall and lowered her weapon. She tried to make her eyes focus on the figure—to pick out any kind of defining facial feature—but it wasn't working. They stepped forward, a worried look on their face. It wasn't the arrancar Masaki was looking for. This woman had long green hair and a red stripe across her nose met in the middle by a large, pink scar. "Are you okay?" the woman asked.

"M'fine," Masaki slurred out, shutting her eyes. "I—"

Masaki collapsed to the floor, fast asleep, and the woman poked her lightly with her toe. "Oh..." She lifted Masaki under the arms and dragged her into the empty classroom. The woman shut the door, hearing footsteps down the hall.

"I'm pretty sure she went this way," said a boy's voice as his shadow passed.

"Pretty sure? Or really sure? Because this is getting ridiculous," another boy snapped. A third boy slapped him on the back.

"Don't worry, Shin!" he said. "Kaien's got this whole twin telepathy thing going on. It's like a tracker in his brain or whatever. They can tell when they're near each other."

"'Kay, that's not even close to true," said Kaien, "but I am really sure she went this way."

"If you say so," said Shin. The woman let out the breath she'd been holding before looking over at Masaki. Hopefully she'd wake up soon...

**Here you guys go. Another update. I'm in the process of moving though, so it may be a while till the next one (but when isn't it?) Thanks for reading. **


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